<A HREF="http://allafrica.com/publishers.html?passed_name=The%20Independent&passed_location=Banjul">The Independent</A> (Banjul)May 26, 2003
Posted to the web May 26, 2003 PK Jarju
Banjul: The Gambian Diaspora may soon be transformed into a voting
constituency of its own, if feasibility studies by the Independent Electoral Commission
(IEC) for that purpose, culminates in enfranchising Gambians abroad.The
national electoral body is currently embarking on the modalities required to take
the unprecedented step of extending the franchise to more than 80, 000 Gambians
residing outside the country in the countdown to the 2006 general elections,
The Independent can reveal.Reports suggest that the IEC, which is empowered to
conduct elections in the country, in exercise of section 141 of the Election
Decree of 1996, requiring it to make rules for Gambians in any foreign country
to vote in a presidential election, has set up a taskforce to deal with the
modalities of enfranchising over 80, 000 Gambians who live and work abroad
including Britain and the United States.The task force is said to be working
closely with the Department of State for Foreign Affairs, which is expected to
provide an appraisal of the concentration of Gambian residents abroad. The task
force is also expected to work diligently to ensure that the rules and
regulations for the conduct of free and fair elections for Gambians abroad are in
place.According to report if everything including the funding of the ultimate
exercise materialize, the IEC would immediately afterwards send its officials to
some selected countries where the density of Gambian nationals meet the criteria.
They would also study the modalities and conditions of registration of
Gambians as voters, which would enable them to play an integral part in determining
the country's political leadership. If the bid succeeds, the Gambian diaspora
would be the 46th constituency in the 2006 elections, provided the electoral
demarcations of the last election remain intact.This IEC move comes as a
growing number of Gambians continue to express the desire to take part in the
country's electoral process. The Georgia based Gambian Democratic Forum (GDF) has
meanwhile requested to be advised on the procedures required for the
registration of Gambians of legal voting age more specifically abroad.When contacted for
comments Said Yusuf the IEC director of training, information and
communication confirmed the story but declined to give further detail, saying the IEC is
yet to receive the report of the task force, which would be released to the
press in due course.If successfully implemented, it would be an unprecedented
development that would effectively transform the Gambian diaspora into another
constituency for Presidential and National Assembly elections in the future.
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are
evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
- Albert Einstein
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead
"When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear
the government, you have tyranny."
- Thomas Jefferson
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"
- Edmund Burke
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