Yesterday, the IEC disqualified Mr. Fatty for not having the required number of 200 voter nominations from Banjul. However, Mai claims inaccuracy and said they filed way in excess of that number with the IEC.
Mai on his Facebook page stated that “I am currently at the IEC to file my appeal as required. The Chairman of the IEC announced publicly before the world that an appeal should be filed before midnight. Shortly after that public announcement, they closed their doors and went home. No one was there to receive my Letter of Appeal. I spoke to Mr. Sambujang Njie on the phone who told me he wasn’t the Returning Officer and that it’s the IEC Chairman whose job it was to receive my Appeal.”
“Then I spoke to Chairman Alieu Momar Njai himself who also ping-ponged me back to Mr. Sambujang Njie, the CEO of IEC. In the end, they both concluded that nothing could be done and that I had indeed fully complied with the law.”
The politician said his appeal has not been received as dictated by the law, adding they submitted more than 200 legitimate from Banjul, in which the IEC made an error. He calls on supporters to stay calm and they shall pursue the process according to law.
In a separate post, he wrote that the temporary challenge they experienced has not by any means negatively impacted their confidence in Gambian democracy. He’s optimistic that the error made by the IEC would be corrected, and they would join others in a contest of ideas to present pragmatic policy alternatives to the electorates.
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