Gambia election: 2 political parties, independent candidate reject election result
Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - Two political parties and an independent candidate have rejected the results of the December 4 presidential election in Gambia, even when the Independent Electoral Commission is yet to release the final results with President Adama Barrow leading.
United Democratic Party leader, Ousainou Darbo, Mamma Kandeh of the Gambia Democratic Congress, and independent candidate Essa Faal rejected the ongoing results on Sunday.
A statement read by Darbo said: “On December 4, 2021, Gambians came out in large numbers to vote in the presidential elections. Twenty-four hours later, no clear winner has been declared by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
“The United Democratic Party and its partners, GFA and Honourable Marie Sock, the Gambia Democratic Party, and parties that endorsed his candidature, Honourable Essa Faal, have the following preliminary observations on the just-concluded electoral process -
1. considering that the Gambia has an electorate of approximately 900,000 with on-the-spot counting, we are concerned that there has been an inordinate delay in the announcement of results;
2. a number of issues have been raised by our agents and representatives in polling stations, centres and at the IEC headquarters.
“As a result, the representatives of the aforementioned candidates at the IEC headquarters refused to endorse some of the results that were announced. We are investigating this matter with our partners, to determine our future course of action. At this point in time, we reject the results announced so far by the IEC.
“We reserve the right to embark on any action the situation requires. To this end, all options are on the table. In the meantime, we urge all Gambians to remain calm and peaceful while we continue our investigations," Fall said.
-0- PANA MSS/VAO 5Dec2021
