Abubacarr
Tambadou, the attorney general and minister of Justice has affirmed that their
aim as a government is to have fair, transparent and credible electoral process
as the country prepares for the much anticipated 2021 Presidential polls since
the ouster of President Yahya Jammeh in 2016.
The
country’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) recently conducted regional
consultative meetings on electoral reforms and produced a list of
recommendations for the amendment of the Elections Act.
Justice
Minister Tambadou was speaking yesterday during the validation workshop
organised by the Ministry of Justice in partnership with the Africa and West
Asia Programme of International IDEA (AWA IDEA) and the Independent Electoral
Commission on the recommendations for the amendment of the Election Act for all
stakeholders held at a local hotel in Senegambia.
He
maintained that the objectives of the exercise are to ensure that there’s fair,
transparent and credible election process going forward, saying they want to
have a comprehensive review of the election Act.
He
added: “The second objective is link to the first objectives which is to
prevent conflict. I believe that the root cause of electoral violence is not
the result of election or the voting on election days. I think the root cause
is the credibility of the electoral process,” he opined.
“When
political players take ownership of electoral process, it becomes theirs and
everyone has a stake on it. Then, there’s more credibility and there’s more
trust, confidence and the result of any election is easily acceptable.”
He,
however, said when that is not the case then there is room for doubts and you
create room for disagreement and then of course it will go out of control. “So
the idea here is to make sure that all the political players participate in
this process and take the process as their own so that we can avoid potential
conflicts.”
“We
want a level playing field for election in this country going forward. This is
the opportunity for us to have that because this is the first time in the
history of this country that the electoral process is being shifted in this
consultation and inclusive way.”
The
chairman of IEC, Alieu Momarr Njai, said IEC continues to make all efforts to
build on the gains made in the past in order to establish a sound and enduring
democratic culture based on the right of the citizenry to participate in the
development of the country and to maintain at all times a free, fair and
transparent electoral system.
“Attention
has therefore been focused on the delivery of electoral services for the people
of The Gambia to have the opportunity to participate in the development of the
nation through the exercise of their right under the franchise to hold diverse
political opinions, associate freely without undue hindrance and regularly
elect their representatives in genuine elections, in an atmosphere of peace and
tolerance.”
Sead
Alihodzic, senior programme officer from the Electoral Processes of
International IDEA, reiterated the commitment of International IDEA to support
democratic processes in The Gambia. It’s one of many events of which
International IDEA is contributing to and partnering with national and
international partners in constitutional building processes, transitional justice
among others.
Electoral
processes, he added, are indispensable instrument in democratic transition and
democratic development. “I am happy that we are now working closely with
national stakeholders in this important crusade.”