By Binta Jaiteh
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has announced spending D2 million on ballot drums for each presidential candidate as Gambians are in preparation to go to the polls on December 4 to elect their next leader who will lead them until 2026.
Speaking to reporters, Alieu Momarr Njie, chairman of Independent Electoral Commission said: “the drum boxes cost the IEC over D2 million per candidate it is expensive and logistically a nightmare most countries are using paper ballot and soon it will be introduced.”
He assured Gambians that no authority can derail system of IEC and the elections results and election will be free and transparent. Noting that “After having political interface with the political parties, the commission then invited the media houses for interaction by updating what has happened during the voter registration.”
According to the IEC chairman, elections start with voting and to vote you must have a voter card, and “what I always tell people outside the country is that some of the African countries do emulate the electoral process of the Gambia, because we allow parties from everywhere to observe the voting process and if any inconvenience they should report.”
On “election day we will invite parties to come and witness the voting system when the ballot drums are open and after voting before counting party agents and IEC will observe. Party agents will also sign so that there will not be any conflict, no authority can influence the voting pattern of the IEC because it will be done in the presence of all the parties and they will sign the results of that polling station.
“It will be free and transparent not like the 2016 elections where you have three contestants but this time it is multiple parties to contest,” he stated.