The European Union Chief election Observer to Gambia’s Parliamentary elections, Miroslav Poche on Thursday witnessed the opening of the polls at Bakau New Town Lower Basic School as early at 07:00 AM.
A total 886,000 registered voters will cast their votes in Thursday’s elections, the first post-Jammeh elections in the country.
Poche, a member of the European Parliament from Czech Republic heads the EU Observer Mission to the Gambia following an invitation from the Independent Electoral Commission for the body to observer the polls.
“This morning I saw how voters expressed great interest and commitment to cast their votes in those highly contested elections” EU Chief Election Observer Poche said at the voting ground, adding data from the field will form the base of their assessment.
This is the first time the European Union deploys a fully-fledged election observation mission to The Gambia, reflecting the EU’s commitment to supporting The Gambia’s democratic transition and the level of international interest.
A total of 57 European Union Observers are deployed across the country to observer the Parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, 239 registered candidates representing 9 different political parties and Independent are battling for the 48 National Assembly seats in the country’s Parliament. Five other nominated members will later be appointed by the President, totaling 53 seats of the National Assembly.
