The commission made this clarion call on Saturday during the start of its civic and voter education outreach funded by UNDP - The Gambia. The awareness exercise is simultaneously being held in communities in North Bank and Central River Region-North with a view to sensitising citizens on the importance of chairperson/Mayoral election and functions of councils.
Also, the campaign seeks to encourage electorate to come out in large numbers and cast their votes in the forthcoming local government elections in an atmosphere of peace and tolerance throughout the electoral process.
As planned, NCCE’s caravan and civic educators will be visiting communities both far and near, big and small in Central River, North Bank, Lower River and West Coast Regions. This exercise would feature series of media engagements on TV, Radio and online to reach out to as many Gambians as possible.
The campaign in essence seeks to build on similar engagements held in Upper River and Central River Region -South before the councillorship elections.
Ansumana Yabou, a Senior Civic Education Officer at the National Council for Civic Education (NCCE) speaking at a recent meeting held at Mayamba in Lower Nuimi District, North Bank Region, underscored the importance of voting in local government elections.
He thus called on all eligible voters to go to their respective registered polling stations and vote during the forthcoming Mayoral/Chairpersons elections.
Yabou described elections as the lifeblood of any democracy and that one way to strengthen democracy is by voting during elections.
“It is through elections that people’s power can be validly delegated to choose representatives, noting that elections are significant and an essential element that a democracy cannot go without.”
He thus highlighted that when some citizens fail to vote in an election, it causes voter apathy which may result in electing an individual/party without the support of the majority (elected representative with legitimacy).
To ensure speedy development of the country, Yabou believes that citizens must participate and have a say in the way their councils and country is governed.
Muhammed Kanuteh, a Civic Education Officer at National Council for Civic Education (NCCE), equally called on youth and women, who form majority of the voter population in the country to always exercise their civic duty.
Participants at various communities commended NCCE for the timely intervention, saying the sensitisation would help them make informed choices and to ensure they go out en-masse and vote in a peaceful manner.
