By Nelson Manneh
Amadou Kah, the 2nd deputy party leader of the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), has recently raised concerns over the ended voter registration.
Kah asked whether the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had registered patients who were admitted in hospitals during the 2021 general voter’s registration process.
“We want to know whether the IEC has captured all legible Gambians for the upcoming election, December 4th, 2021. As a party, we have not yet put anything in place in order to challenge the election commission at the revising court, but when the need arises, we will do so,” he said.
The IEC on 29th May 2021 commenced general registration of voters across the country and ended the process on 11th July 2021. The commission yearned to register one million voters, but was able to register little less than that. Mr. Kah said looking at the whole voter registration process, the IEC did well. But he said there are still some areas that they need to improve on.
“As a party, we want to make sure the election cycle is fair and transparent. We want to make sure that people participate and let it be inclusive,” he said.
Dodou Jah, the deputy spokesperson of the Alliance for Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction (APRC), said his party is yet to establish issues that will enable them to challenge IEC at the revising court.
“We are aware of some of the issues that were happening during the voter registration process. Some of them were addressed immediately, but some were not and we want the IEC to consider them next time,” he said.
APRC spokesperson also raised concerns regarding the use of attestations during the voter registration period. He said the IEC needs to look at that provision of the law.
At the time of going to press, this reporter contacted the Chief Election Officer (CEO) of the IEC to explain whether those hospitalized during the registration period are considered. The CEO could not be reached.
