Election Day In Gambia

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Election Day In Gambia

Thursday, 24 November 2011 00:00

(JollofNews) – The people of the Gambia are today going to the polls to vote for the country’s next president.
About 800,000 Gambians aged 18 and above have registered to vote in the elections, the largest number since the country gained independence from Britain in 1965.
Incumbent President Yahya Jammeh is being tipped by many observers as favourite to win another five year term.

President Jammeh, 46, came to power in a bloodless coup in July 1994 which ended the 30 year old rule of President Dawda Jawara and his PPP regime.
APRCS_YAHYA_JAMMEH

He founded the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) as his party and was elected president in September 1996, winning 55.77 per cent of the votes.

On October 18, 2001, Jammeh was re-elected with about 53 per cent of the vote. The election was described as generally deemed free and fair by observers, despite some shortcomings.

President Jammeh ran for a third term in the presidential elections held on September 22, 2006, winning 67.3 per cent of the votes.

President Jammeh’s main challenger in the election is Ousainou Darboe, 63, a human rights lawyer and founder of the United Democratic Party (UDP)

Mr Darboe whose party has joined alliance with the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), first ran for presidential election in September 1996 and finished second, winning 35.84 of the votes.

Mr Darboe's second attempt to gain the presidency came in October 2001. This time, he represented a three party coalition of his UDP, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the Gambian People’s Party (GPP).

UDP-GMC

Out of the five-candidate field, he again finished second behind President Jammeh, receiving 32.59 per cent of the votes.

In 2005, the UDP joined with four other opposition parties to form the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD), in preparation for the 2006 presidential. The alliance, however, disintegrated after the UDP and the National Reconciliation Party (NRP) withdrew in early 2006.

By the time presidential elections were held on September 22, 2006, Mr Darboe's UDP had formed another coalition with the NRP and the Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress (GPDP). As in the previous elections, Mr Darboe finished second behind Jammeh winning only 26.69 per cent of the votes.

A third candidate representing the remaining National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) parties, Halifa Sallah finished a distant third with 5.98 per cent of the votes.

Another candidate who is contesting the elections is Independent candidate Hamat NK Bah.

Hamat Bah, 51 is leading a newly registered party, United Front, comprising four opposition parties, namely the National Reconciliation Party (NRP), the Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress (GPDP), National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) and the People’s Democratic organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS).

Mr Bah a former school teacher and hotel worker started his political career in 1996 when he led the NRP in the country’s elections winning 5.52 per cent of the votes.
UNITED_FRONT_FLAGBEARE_Hamat_Bah

In January 1997, he was elected National Assembly member for Upper Saloum. In 2001, he contested the presidential election as NRP candidate winning 7.8 per cent of the votes.

In January 2005, Mr Bah's NRP joined four other opposition parties to form the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD). Soon after NADD was registered as a political party the Supreme Court of the Gambia revoked Mr Bah’s seat in the country’s National Assembly, which he won in 2002, for belonging to two parties at the same time.

In a by-election held in June 2005, Mr Bah lost his seat to Sainey Mbaye of the ruling APRC party.

In 2006, Mr Bah joined an alliance with the UDP in a presidential elections which were again won by President Jammeh.

In January 2007, he contested his old parliamentary seat but was again defeated by Sainey Mbaye.

There is no second round voting in the Gambia and a candidate with a simple majority will be declared winner on Friday evening. However, the winner will have to wait for many weeks before he can be sworn in as president
Written by PK Jarju