Bravo IEC

Editorial,

The Independent Electoral Commission has once again come under the limelight. This time it is not on the conduct of elections; rather it is for another reason that reinforces an equal examplary role in its enviable performance in our democratisation process.

The commission recently presented its annual report to the National Assembly for scrutiny. The presentation of such a report before our deputies guaranties less scope for corruption, or any form of dishonest behavior.

This show of respect for the demand by the constitution that public institutions present report of their deeds to the National Assembly explains the commitment of the leadership of the country to zero tolerance for the use of public office for private gains.

Since July 1994, the prevailing democratic governance initiatives of President Jammeh holds much promise for developing effective systems of public accountability that will ensure that government servants are responsible to elected officials, and that the latter are in turn responsible to the public who elected them in the first place.

This system of accountability is aimed at increasing pressure for more transparent governance, in which corruption will be easier to bring to light and thus to curtail. The process is however not new to the populace as the “Operation no compromise” is a popular slogan.

On the part of the IEC, the commission came into being in 1997 with the sole responsibility of conducting elections in The Gambia. Since then, the commission has been striving to ensure that all elections conducted in the country are free, fair, and transparent. And as a commission, in all its diversity, it has in common some distinctive forms of governance and a set of values which are not only determined by the financial bottom line but also by an electoral mandate. These values include not just what they do, but how they do it.

Furthermore, the commission has a set of distinctive relationships with its various stakeholders: those who fund it, those who benefit from its services, as well as those who work with it. Appearing before the National Assembly to publish their actions is not only in the interest and standards of good practice, but will undoubtly boost the confidence of the stake holders and the populace at large in respect to their mandate.

This is what is expected of all public institutions. Maintaining public trust and confidence is at the heart of President Jammeh’s governance Strategy. Therefore it is important that developments aimed at improving self-regulation are given time to be disseminated and become embedded more deeply in the culture and operation of our public institutions.

There is also a need to ensure that existing accountability mechanisms are used effectively and efficiently. Although public trust and confidence in public institutions remain relatively high, and rightly so, it is important not to take it for granted: once this high ground is lost it is a much more difficult task to regain it. And we should be aiming to raise it higher.