By: NyimaSillah
As the countdown to the 2023 Local Government Elections begins, Essa Njie, a Political Lecturer at the University of The Gambia said all eyes are on the country’s electoral body -IEC to make sure there is a free, fair and transparent election during the process.
In an Exclusive with this medium on Tuesday, Mr. Njie said: “In every two years political parties are expected to hold a congress and for more than two years the incumbent did not hold any congress and the IEC ignored this issue which questioned their credibility, independence and neutrality.”
He noted that the communication officer of the IEC came out to say some political parties are not abiding by rules and regulations of the Elections Act meaning they (IEC) know all these things but they are deliberately ignoring political parties that are not observing those rules and regulations.
“I think that also puts the credibility of IEC at stake therefore, all eyes are on them to make sure they deliver a free, fair and transparent elections come April and May 2023,” Njie said.
Njie went on to say that if the electoral body fails to execute its mandate as expected and avoid acting in other ways, that will discourage citizens to have confidence in them as far as the coming local elections are concerned.
