Electoral chief tells Gambian opposition - Ahead of the 4 April local government elections in Gambia, the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Mustapha Carayol, has appealed to opposition parties not to boycott the polls.
'Instead', he said “the opposition should fight against the system.”
“They should stand for elections, do what is expected of them and leave the rest in the hands of their supporters,” he said during a nationwide voter education campaign held at Janjanbureh, the Central River Region, Monday.
PANA reported Tuesday that the objective the voter education campaign is to create awareness among stakeholders in the electoral process, promote mass participation and high voter turnout as well as the reduction of invalid votes.
PANA quoted organizers of the campaign as saying 'It’s also meant to build trust and confidence in the electoral process and in the IEC. It is also intended to promote attitudes and behaviours that will make elections peaceful, free and fair.
'Boycotting election is not the solution,' he said on Gambia Radio and Television, adding that the the upcoming local government elections were meant to strengthen grassroots democracy.
He warned “After this election, there will be no other election until 2016, So I am calling on all registered voters to come out in their numbers to vote because your vote is your power, this election is very important.”
Pana 05/02/2013