Kamala Harris’s sister, step-daughter, niece to deliver speeches to nominate her as VP

Washington, Aug 20: Kamala Harris' sister, step-daughter and niece will deliver the vice-presidential nominating speeches for the Indian-origin senator, who is poised to make history on Wednesday as the first-ever American of Indian and African descent to be nominated by a major party for the top post.

Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) in a statement said Harris's sister Maya Harris, niece Meena and step-daughter Ella Emhoff will make nominating speeches for her.

The stage for the historic convention night would be set by former US President Barack Obama, who was the first non-White president of the United States from January 2009 to January 2017.

Obama, 59, delivering the convention speech, immediately before Harris being formally nominated is apt, as during the eight years of his presidency, he mentored the Indian-American Senator for the bigger role.

"Tonight Americans will hear from Former President Barack Obama, Senator Kamala Harris-the 2020 Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, and many others who are committed to working alongside Joe Biden to achieve his goals to form a more perfect union," said the DNCC.

The theme of Wednesday's programme is "A More Perfect Union" it said.

Harris, 55, is the first Indian-American to be selected for the second-highest elected office of the United States after that of the president.

She is also the first-ever Black and first-ever African American to be nominated as a vice-presidential candidate by a major political party.

If elected in the November 3 presidential elections, Harris, whose mother is from India and father from Jamaica, would be the first-ever women vice president of the United States.

"The last time I spoke at the Democratic National Convention was in 2012. Tonight at 9 p.m. ET I'll be back, this time accepting the nomination for Vice President of the United States," Harris tweeted Wednesday morning.

Incidentally, her acceptance speech comes a day after the United States commemorated the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment-known as the Susan B Anthony Amendment- of women securing the right to vote.

"America is not going back to normal, because normal wasn't good enough. As he leads us out of crisis, Joe Biden will help us build back better. An economy that helps working families and small businesses rise up," the DNCC said.

"A climate change plan that is one of the most ambitious ever proposed. He will reform our broken immigration system, fight for sane gun laws, and ensure equal pay and strong health protections for women. And he will have a historic partner in these efforts: the first female vice president," the statement said.

Ahead of the speech by Harris, former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential nominee of the party Hillary Clinton will deliver the keynote address during the segment "A More Perfect Union...Means Women Lead." "America Rising: From Women's Suffrage to the Women's March: It has been 100 years this week since women won the right to vote, and they've been leading ever since," DNCC said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will deliver remarks during the same segment.

with PTI inputs