The
election petitions filed by the former ruling APRC party have been withdrawn
from the Supreme Court on Wednesday, following the court’s approval of the
withdrawal application.
The
application to withdraw the election petition was earlier filed by the
applicants’ counsel, lawyer Edward Gomez, during the last court sitting.
Former
president, Yahya Jammeh, the APRC party and Yankuba Colley and about 5,000
voters, filed petition to the country’s constitutional court for the court to
declare the December 1, 2016 presidential election null and void.
The
petition urged the Supreme Court to declare the former president the duly
elected president of The Gambia, instead of the incumbent, President Adama
Barrow, claiming that Yahya Jammeh had more votes than Adama Barrow in the
December 1, 2016 election.
The
petition disclosed that the December 1, 2016 election was invalid due to its
alleged non-compliance with the Election Act.
The
petition stated that the IEC, the statutory body responsible for the proper
conduct of elections in The Gambia, failed to properly collate the results of
the election.
It
stated that on the 2 December, 2016, the IEC declared the result and then on
December 5, 2016, it declared a different result having noticed some errors.
The
petition claimed that no APRC representative was present when the said revision
was made, neither was it signed by the APRC representative.
It
further stated that on the polling day, about 25,000 APRC supporters who were
on the queues to cast their votes for Yahya Jammeh were intimidated by the IEC
presiding officers and were not allowed to cast their votes and sent home.
During
last sitting of the court, the legal counsel, Edward Gomez, informed the court
he was instructed by his clients (petitioners) to withdraw the suits from the
court.
He
disclosed that he had filed a notice of withdrawal, adding that the reasons
being for the best interest of the country and the Gambian people to ensuring
that there is a peace and harmony among all and sundry.
The
Chief Justice, Hassan B.Jallow, at that junction informed lawyer Gomez to apply
formally, stating the reasons for the withdrawal of the petition and be signed
by the petitioners.
During
Wednesday’s sitting, the court observed that lawyer Edward Gomez had duly
followed the procedure and the court therefore granted the application to
withdraw the petitions.
