All
have been abundantly informed and advised to cherish peace and shun violence,
or any semblance of it, for the nation to see through a peaceful electoral
process tomorrow, December 1, as we go to the polls to vote for a president to
steer the affairs of this country.
The
latest advice, in addition to the call for peace and law and order in the
country, has again come from the Gambia Police Force, which “wishes to advise
the general public to proceed on their legal businesses upon casting their
votes, and avoid loitering or grouping around polling stations”.
This
indeed is in place to ensure that peace, law and order prevail in this country.
We are all kith and kin and we will always remain so, but elections come and
go; so let’s preserve peace and avoid anything that will create chaos and
turmoil in our midst.
We
should endeavour to heed the advice of the police as loitering or grouping
around polling stations may lead to unforeseen circumstances and clashes.
All
we have to do is to go peacefully and secretly cast our votes for the
candidates of our choice, and return home to wait for the results.
The
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and our party representatives, as well
as election observers would be capable enough to oversee the voting and
counting process of the ballot.
Another
good development worthy of note in this presidential election campaign is the
fact that the IEC ensured that all political parties or standard bearers are
given equal time and opportunities to campaign across the country and via the
state media without hindrance or bias.
The
state TV and radio stations of GRTS have also been applying themselves
professionally, especially in their covering and reporting of the campaign
trails of all political parties and presidential aspirants in the election.
The
IEC and, indeed, GRTS have gone the extra-mile to observe the UN and AU
recommendations of giving equal space and time to all presidential candidates
and their parties in the run up to the December 1 polls, which is tomorrow.
So
we say well done to the IEC and GRTS, and hope this trend continues in all
electoral processes of this country.
We
would also like to commend the IEC for doing on-the-spot counting for the first
time in elections in The Gambia.
“Let's cherish peace and law and order.”
The
Point
