IEC commended

International and domestic election observers have commended the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), for conducting a well organised, commendable and exemplary local government elections in The Gambia.

Delivering his report at a briefing session at the Paradise Suites Hotel, on Sunday, after the elections, Sheikh Lewis, director of the International Society for Human Rights described the local government elections as one of the best elections ever conducted by the IEC.

Mr Lewis further noted that the campaign process conformed with the IEC Code of Conduct and contributed to the success of the elections. He lauded the IEC for the provision of sufficient voter material and man power during the election period but quickly highlighted the poor voter turn-out.

“Although there was a low turn-out  it was better than the last National Assembly elections when compared. The IEC therefore deserve credit for the positive impact,” he said.

Delivering his election report, Lamin F Bojang, Speaker of the National Youth Parliament (NYP) confirmed that the National Youth Parliament of The Gambia deployed 51 youth parliamentarians who were accredited by the IEC to observe the election process and these were deployed in all the administrative regions across the country.

“These observers patrolled from one polling station to another and were able to cover a substantial number of polling stations throughout the voting process,” he said.

According to him, the parliamentarians observed that the electoral officers were highly professional and displayed a high sense of maturity during the voting process as they were able to carry out their functions effectively and also address some of the minor problems that emerged.

“The NYP observers also observed that there was a massive voter turn-out in many parts of the country especially among the young people but other than that the elections were conducted in a free and fair atmosphere,” he stated.

For his part, Alhaji Mustapha L Carayol, Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission thanked the international and domestic observers for saluting the IEC for conducting a such a well managed and transparent election in The Gambia.

He then assured them of IEC’s readiness to continue such a positive trend whenever there is any election in the country.

Commenting on the low voter turn-out, Chairman Carayol said the IEC never expected such a low turn-out which is so disappointing. He said “we started an extensive voter education process since last October going to towns, villages, markets, bantabas and schools only to educate people on the essence of voting. We went every where, with the hope that things will be better this time but we are dissapointed by the turnout,” he said.