By Aisha Jawara
Gambia Participates (GP), a vibrant youth-led Civil Society Organization (CSO) that focuses on enhancing transparency and accountability in the public sector, has called on the country’s electoral body to mount a probe into the withdrawal, from the electoral race, of some duly-nominated candidates prior to the April 9, 2022 parliamentary polls.
The GP on Friday, April 8, 2022 called for the investigation so as for the IEC to establish if their decisions to drop out of the race had any connection to “undue influence and corruption practices”, and they also charged it to regularize the use of state resources during elections.
“The IEC should increase communications with the public after polling stations have closed, to assure the public that the electoral process is being respected according to the laws. The IEC should ensure election results are consistent and accurate with greater transparency of the votes collation and tabulation process,” the man at the helm of affairs of GP, Mr. Marr Nyang, emphasized at a press briefing.
Executive Director Nyang also raised that, as noted during the 2021 presidential election, some polling stations were not conducive for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), and he echoed their call on the Alieu Momar Njie-led electoral commission to ensure an inclusive process by placing polling stations in locations that are accessible by PWDs.
To the Gambian security agencies, the GP recommended that security officers should not to use excessive force to disperse protecting crowds, as the organisation, through Nyang, said that only escalates tension between political supporters and security officials. Nyang enjoined that security officials should guarantee security for voters affected by recent violence in the Casamance conflict on election day and make accommodations for internally displaced persons.
“EOCMIG and Senegalese soldiers should act impartially on election day and not inhibit the voting process on Saturday with roadblocks or other measures that would deter Gambians from voting,” the GP chief stated ahead of Saturday polls, while reassuring his organisation was fully prepared to observe the elections.
“We will provide independent, timely, precise and credible information on the election process. Gambia Participates, therefore, urges all registered voters to go out and vote, and be confident that their votes will count,” Nyang encouraged. He had informed the press that his organisation would deploy 415 trained and accredited citizens observers to observe and report on the election day processes, of polling units set up, voting, counting and announcement of results. It would comprise 65 mobile observers and 350 stationary observers across all the 53 constituencies, he reported. The 350 trained citizens observers are duly accredited by the IEC, he noted.
The Executive Director put on records that Gambia Participates appreciates the support of their partners, the International Republic Institute (IRI) towards making their observation mission possible, and the support of National Endowment for Democracy and others.
