JACKSON KIAKARI
PORT MORESBY - It rained intermittently in Port Moresby on Thursday.
No music played, no horns blared, no rowdy exchanges. It was a sombre day.
And this was the day I entered the political arena by nominating as a candidate for the Port Moresby North-West by-election.
On this day our nation was in mourning after the passing of our beloved founding father, Grand Chief Michael Somare.
He held the torch that led the way and united Papua New Guinea’s one thousand tribes for more than 60 years.
Now the torch had gone out. His had been no ordinary journey, but he was no ordinary man.
This generation and those to come will always owe a debt of gratitude to Sir Michael and his band of visionary patriots.
They defied the odds and mastered the will to secure our political independence.
Port Moresby North-West had also recently lost a son.
Sir Mekere Morauta was a champion whose contributions transcended the electorate and left a lasting impact on the nation.
He had been a legislative craftsman of the tallest order. His legacy also will be remembered through the generations.
At such a juncture, a lot of emotion weighed on me as the nomination hour approached.
I was conscious of the burden of the monumental tasks ahead. Those proverbial shoes seemed to be growing bigger as the hour drew nearer.
I needed a reason to start and complete the journey ahead. I needed an anchor. And I had one.
In the midday rain, dressed in black to capture the national mood and followed by a handful of friends who share my dreams and hopes, I crossed the rainy Boroko street to nominate at the Electoral Office.
I had found a reason. And I held the reason tightly in one hand as well as in my heart as we crossed the street together.
I felt this was for him. He needed me to cross that street. He needed me to enter the arena.
My son, Kyle Jackson Kiakari, didn't know it yesterday, but he and his generation will need their champions. Just as our generation needed people like Sir Michael and Sir Mekere.
These great leaders crossed the boundary from private citizenship to offer a life in service to our young country.
Beyond my responsibility to feed, clothe, shelter, love and protect my family, as a candidate I know I have to expend my efforts and do all I possibly can to contribute towards a good PNG.
This is what we need now and in the future. This is what we want our sons and daughters and their sons and daughters to inherit.
They are the reason, they must be the reason, why we engage in politics.
To everyone who joins the cause, there is work to be done.
There is a country to further build, following the dreams of our fathers.
Tomorrow's generation expects nothing less of us. The best reward for doing what's right is the satisfaction that we journeyed together for a good cause.
To fellow candidates who have already nominated, I wish you well.
If your convictions and reasons are the same as mine, we are brothers and the same team.
If you get the mandate, I will have been successful.
It matters not who the people choose. It matters not who gets the mandate. If you get elected, my dreams, hopes and aspirations get the mandate through you.
It is the motive and reason that matters. This not about the individual.
To the citizens and electors of Port Moresby North-West, it matters not who you follow. It matters not where your allegiance swings. It only matters why you follow.
An election is a solemn and serious birthright. It is the process through which citizens legally delegate their democratic entitlement to participate to a representative to use on behalf of us all.
An election should be a time of deep reflection and serious private consideration.
Let us all participate responsibly, respectfully and within the parameters prescribed by the laws of our land.
In concluding these thoughts from Thursday, I want you to know that I have willingly entered the arena for you and our country.
You are, and will, always be the reason.