By: Christian Conteh
Election Observer Missions including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union (AU) and The Commonwealth have validated Gambia’s Presidential Election Result.
Describing the 4th December 2021 polls as free, fair and credible
The validation came during their Preliminary declaration on 6th December 2021 at the Gambia International Conference Centre at Bijilo.
Former President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma is Head of the ECOWAS Election Observer mission. He said ECOWAS has remained at the forefront in supporting the democratic process in The Gambia while continuing to implement high development programmes in tandem with the Gambia development programme.
Key among the missions’ observation was that security was provided for all presidential candidates throughout the process and citizens and CSOs were allowed to fully participate in the process.
Polling staff they noticed arrived early and voting started on time, election materials were also available and were adequate.
However, the mission noted with dismay that COVID-19 health provisions were not observed in 70% of centres they visited although the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) made masks and sanitisers available.
“The mission is impressed with the simple but very effective voting system. The mission is appreciative of the conditions in which the elections were organised as well as the speed and accuracy with which the counting and declaration were done,” the report by ECOWAS read.
The mission went on to salute the great political maturity displayed by Gambians and confirmed that the electoral process was calm and peaceful with no major incidents reported.
“ECOWAS congratulations all Gambians, and the incoming president and challenges him to ensure peace and security, economic transformation among others in an inclusive manner,” Koroma said.
The preliminary report recommended, that the IEC should continue to communicate information about the process to the public whilst appealing to candidates to respect the results and resort to legal channels to resolve disputes.
Representing the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to the Gambia Former President of South Africa H.E. Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe called on The Gambia to quickly review its constitution and make clear provisions for a term limit for the presidency.
“Based on its pre-election assessment and Election Day findings, the AUEOM concludes that the election was conducted in a peaceful and democratic political environment and conforms to national and international standards.”
The AUEOM) further notes that the home-grown voting system, using drums, tokens, sand and sieves has been in use since 1960. Although the voting system is simple, effective and efficient, some stakeholders that the AUEOM consulted have proposed replacing it with paper ballots.
However, AUEOM is of the view that the voting system is a unique invention and effort should be made to maintain and improve it,” the statement said.
Key recommendations of the AUEOM include:
Efforts to be made to pass the Electoral Bill and continue constitutional reforms and government should enact laws that provide for public funding and enforce regulations governing private funding of political parties.
It calls on political parties to take more deliberate steps to adopt affirmative action measures aimed at increasing the participation of women, youth and People living with disabilities (PWDs) in decision making structures.
It also encourages the IEC to establish a legal department to attend to litigations speedily.
Olusegun Obasanjo is the Former President of Nigeria and Head of the Commonwealth Observation Mission to the Gambia.
He commended the IEC for conducting the election, despite the great difficulties imposed by the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic globally.
“It is the view of the Commonwealth Observer Group that this election was conducted in a credible, transparent and inclusive manner. We congratulate and commend the people of The Gambia for reaffirming their faith in the principles of democracy.”
Obasanjo promised that the Commonwealth will continue to follow the process and their final report containing their recommendations will be made public in a few weeks.
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, Former President of Nigeria spoke on behalf of the West African Elders Forum.
He stressed the need for support of term limits by the Gambian Constitution, encouraging all players to work on the democratic processes such as good governance which is an essential part of democracy.
He advised every party to adhere to the laid down rules and respect the results of the election. He encouraged anyone who feels aggrieved to go through the right processes to seek recourse
Incumbent President Adama Barrow convincingly won the 2021 race to State House. pulling 457,519 of the valid votes cast, whilst his close contender opposition strongman Ousainou Darboe pulled 238, 253. Mama Kandeh of the GDC recorded 105,902 followed by veteran politician Halifa Sallah of PDOIS who got 32, 425 of the valid votes cast. Independent Candidate Essa Faal had 17, 206 and NUP Leader Abdoulie Jammeh recorded 8,252.
Although the main opposition leader Ousainou Darboe is yet to concede, President-elect Adama Barrow has hit the ground running with a maiden press conference where he promised the Gambian people that he will be president for all Gambians and not just a fraction of the population.
