The Gambian dictator Yaya Jammeh is hatching a new plan to systematically bar political parties in the Gambia from participating in all the three elections that take place in the country through the amendment of the law governing elections and imposition of payments seen as undoable by all opposition political parties.
In a new amendment bill to be table before the rubberstamp National Assembly on Tuesday 23rd June 2014, the government represented by Mama Fatima Singhateh, Minister of Justice and Attorney General will seek to change the Election Act. The amendment will makes it impossible for opposition political parties to contest in Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government elections in The Gambia and finally end the seemingly multi-party democracy Gambians enjoys despite in an unfair playground.
The unreasonable proposed amendment includes a registration fee of One million Dalasis equivalent to $25,000 for any new political party. Despite the law not making mention of any subvention from central government to the political parties, it seeks to makes it mandatory for the latter to submit yearly report of their audited accounts to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). This is seen by many as a means to witch-hunt political opponents because it is out of place to ask a party to give audited accounts to IEC when the Commission or government is not giving them those resources. It was gathered that in countries where such is practise, political parties receive subvention from government and thus obliged to give account of expenditure of such public funds.
The other ridiculous changes to the Election Act, increases the amount of money each political party has to deposit for endorsement of their candidate in presidential election. Previously, parties deposit D 10, 000 which is refunded if the party manages to get 20% of the vote cast. However, now they are to pay a non-refundable colossal amount of D1 million which is beyond the means of opposition political parties. A political party will also have to pay staggering D100, 000 for each parliamentary seat in the country’s 48 constituencies instead of D5,000 as previously required if it wants to participate in legislative election. Equally high is the amount a candidate for Mayoral and councillors election will pay to IEC. The amendment raises it from D2, 500 to D50, 000 and D1, 500 to D10, 000 respectively.
All of these changes means only dictator Yaya Jammeh and his APRC party can fulfil such huge amount of fees due to its incumbency advantage and known facts that he uses state resources to finance party activities through his unlimited and unaccounted ‘Office of the President budget’ and funds he receives from companies who are bullied into donating or risk been close down arbitrarily.
Critics observe that the unattainable financial requirements that the amendment imposes on political parties renders the entire amendment impracticable including those clauses viewed as positive. Such positive clauses includes requirement that political parties have offices in each region, hold biennial congress and transferring the role of granting permit for political activities from the Gambia Police Force to the Independent Electoral Commission.
