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Momodou
Denmark
11738 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Nov 2007 : 17:07:42
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“IEC Faces Challenges In Electioneering Process”-Commissioner Grey Johnson
By Fabakary B. Ceesay
Mrs. Sarah Grey Johnson, a commission member of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has said that they, as referees of the electioneering process, have faced challenges and that they will continue to confront those challenges. Mrs. Johnson noted that one of the challenges is the waning interest by eligible voters to exercise their rights to vote at the dawn of the second republic in 1996. She said in 1996 over 90 percent of registered voters had cast their ballots but that ten years later, that number dwindled significantly to less than 70 percent. “In the same period we have seen fewer candidates of different political parties take up their mantle in National Assembly Elections, causing the choice of votes to significantly narrow,” said Mrs. Johnson. She pointed out that it is challenges that undermine diversity in any nation, which they must address effectively as a broader body, comprising all stakeholders in society. Commissioner Grey Johnson pointed out that the tremendous support they received from the government of The Gambia and the donor community, the UNDP, Government of Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States. She added that their well wishers have also come from civil society groups and the media, but that the most important of all, is the Gambian electorate who have, at all times, shown their resounding confidence in the IEC at each election. She noted that The Gambia has a reputation for mass participation in the electoral process and that remains the highest in the world because the stakeholders have shown their interest in the democratic process in the country. Mrs. Grey Johnson said that the workshop will require them to deliberate on relevant matters affecting the electoral process in the country, and to come out with realistic, timely, measurable, attainable and specific goals to guide them as they aim to further strengthen their mandate as an institution tasked with conducting national elections through their motto and guiding principles of “fair play, integrity and transparency”. Commissioner Grey Johnson said their mandate is to ensure that elections are held in a free and fair manner, a fact that should not be lost. The IEC Commissioner was speaking at a two-day programme conducted by the IEC at Jangjanbureh, Central River Region, (CRR) on the theme, “Strengthening the electoral process in The Gambia”.
Representatives from the British High Commission, the UNDP, Civil Society, Governors of both URR and CRR, Chiefs, National Assembly Members, Ward Councillors and Senior Police Officers from both regions attended the programme.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issues
Issue No. 129/2007, 2 – 4 November 2007
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