The Debates
On the 21st November 2009, for the first time in the history of Assocaborg, we had a debate among candidates vying for various positions within the Executive. The debate was taking place between, presidential, vice presidential and public relations candidates. The debate was organised because members felt the 5 minutes awarded each candidate on election day to make a speech was too small to actually get to know them. So members wanted a forum where they could get to know the candidates better and also get to ask them pertinent questions as regards the well being of the association.
Considering that it was the first time such an event was taking place, the sole task of organising, moderating and coming up with modalities of the debate was given to members of the Electoral Committee, consisting of Edison Awa (Chairman), Hermann Douanla (Member) and Yongabi George Tala (Secretary).
l to r: Hermann Douanla, Edison Awa and Yongabi George Tala
We agreed that the Presidential debate should be 90 minutes, the Vice Presidential Debate, 60 minutes and then the Public Relations Officer Debate, 30 minutes. Members were called upon to send questions to the Question Bank for whichever candidate of their choice.
The Presidential Debate
The candidates involved in this debate were Ashu Elvis, Kingsley Ebong, and Vincent Fotso. Each candidate had 5 minutes to give an opening statement, 2 minutes each to respond to a question and then a minute and a half to counteract or support what an opponent just said. A wide range of questions came from the Electoral Committee, the General Assembly, and the question bank.
l to r: Ashu Elvis, Kingsley Ebong and Vincent Fotso
The Vice Presidential Debate
The candidates participating in this debate were Charles Ndanyeh and Denis Nchinda. Same as with the presidential debate, each candidate had 5 minutes for an opening statement and 2 minutes to respond to a question.
l to r: Nchinda Denis and Charles Ndanyeh
Public Relations Officer Debate
The candidates participating in this debate were Augustine Uzor and Raiffeison Ngoh. Same as with the other debates, each candidate had 5 minutes for an opening statement, and 2 minutes each to answer a question posed to them. The debate lasted for the allocated 30 minutes.
l to r: Raiffeison Ngoh and Augustine Uzor
Throughout the year, Assocaborg has had an average participation of 37 members per meeting. On this occasion, there were approximately 60 members that took part in the first ever debate of Association. This was a huge turnout and it goes to show the devotion members have for the well being of the association.
Members during the debate
Many members got to ask questions dear to them, and at the end they felt satisfied with the whole process and the answers they got from the candidates. We hope this same spirit can continue in the future, and Assocaborg will definitely be among one of the best Organisations within Sweden.
