Concord Times (Freetown)
Mohamed Massaquoi and Jaffa Condeh
1 June 2011
Freetown — Interim leader of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) has said that the completion of registration formalities of the movement by the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) has given him and his supporters the legal impetus to contest and clinch the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 2012.
Staunch UDM supporters and executive members yesterday processed along the streets of Freetown to the PPRC headquarters, where the movement received the long-awaited provisional certificate for it to fully operate as a political party with the right to contest the upcoming general elections against the ruling All People’s Congress (APC), the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), among others.
Mohamed Bangura, who was former chairman of the embattled PMDC, said it was time for Sierra Leoneans to have a rethink and chart a new trajectory for the development of the country by encouraging new political parties into the political landscape of Sierra Leone.
He said the registration of the UDM as a legitimate political party will empower Sierra Leoneans who have been politically deprived and marginalized by the two traditional political parties – the SLPP and APC.
“UDM is here to stay; it is a party for the poor and marginalized Sierra Leoneans. We cannot allow the SLPP and APC to continue misleading our people… it is time for the SLPP and APC to give UDM the political space to change the living conditions of our people,” said Bangura.
“This movement comprises of young women and men with the hope of turning around the country’s fortunes for the better.”
Bangura maintained that the movement was not affiliated to any political party as earlier being purported.
AllAfrica – All the Time
See the original article here:
UDM Set for State House 2012