The Fatu Network has received news from The Gambia that an order has been passed informing all soldiers of The Gambia National Army with effect from Tuesday, October 18, 2016 to submit their voters card numbers to their superiors at the respective service quarters.
The order was communicated to the soldiers through the army’s mass text messaging platform which all GAF members are part of.
Already, some GAF members have submitted their voters cards where their serial numbers were recorded in a special book. The reason for this move has still not been communicated to them.
But speculation is rife that this may be part of a larger scheme to either intimidate the soldiers or to completely rig the elections. It could be recalled that in 2011, some members of GAF were arrested and questioned over issues related to loyalty to the commander in chief after being suspected of voting for the opposition. Many believe this is yet another ploy to ensure that all GAF members are seen to be actively and openly supporting their commander in chief, dictator Yahya Jammeh.
