Reports By Election Observers On the October 18 Presidential Poll



The Independent (Banjul)

November 12, 2001
Posted to the web November 12, 2001

Banjul, the Gambia

The October 18 Presidential election was monitored by many local and
international observers including ECOWAS, OAU, The Commonwealth, and the
World Conference of Mayors, Their various reports on the conduct of the
election pointed to the fact that the exercise was free and fair. Here is a
summary of their respective reports.

The OAU

The OAU observers reported that prior to the elections they took part in the
briefing sessions organised by the IEC during which the political parties
raised some concerns. They said the briefing gave them an overview of the
electoral process and that the authorities subsequently addressed some of
the concerns raised by the political parties.

Having observed the conduct of the election in many polling stations in
three out of the seven administration regions of the country namely Banjul,
Kanifing and Brikama, they noted that the election was conducted generally,
in an orderly and peaceful manner and that cordial atmosphere reigned at the
polling stations among the electoral officers, the representatives of the
political parties and the security officers.

They also remarked that they did not notice any attempt from any quarters to
influence voters and that votes were cast without hindrance and the secrecy
of votes maintained at the polling stations. The team gave IEC the credit
for the free and fair nature of the election and concluded that the conduct
of the election in a peaceful atmosphere would go a long way in nurturing
the democratic culture in The Gambia.

The Commonwealth

Like other observers, The Commonwealth team expressed satisfaction with the
election. The group in their report stated that overall; it was a good
election with impressive turnout and orderly behaviour at polling stations.
They noted that except in a few instances, voters waited patiently to
exercise their rights and in the process strengthened the nation's
democracy, which is one of the basic objectives of The Commonwealth.

They, like the OAU, commended the IEC for a job well done and disclosed that
they were in the process of preparing their reports which will be submitted
to the secretary-general of the organization, who will then forward it to
The Gambian government, the political parties and international
organisations. The pending report, they said, will include some suggestions
for improvement of aspects of the election process but would not detract
from their opinion that the election was a successful exercise.

World Conference of Mayors

The World Conference of Mayors' independent observation team organized a
professional team of election monitors to verify and give credibility to The
Gambia's democratic process.

The team reported that there was not any observed irregularity in the
electoral process as they witnessed a fair, ethical election without
intimidation, harassment or coercion on the part of any party involved.

Other observations included the contentment and confidence of Gambians with
the electoral process, and the competence, non-partisan and dedication of
IEC officials to a fair national election.

Nevertheless, they recommended an improvement in the technology of IEC such
as computers software and other materials used in the registration and
voting processes. They are also of the opinion that the voting process was
too slow, forcing people to queue endlessly under the scourging sun. They
therefore called for the streamlining of the process of tallying votes in
order to report vote total in a timely fashion.

ECOWAS

The Ecowas team was invited to observe the presidential election in
accordance with the guidelines for accredited observers for the presidential
elections. In its reports, the team stated that the election was free,
orderly and fair and certainly showed that much effort was invested in
preparing and conducting the election. They appreciated the cooperation and
excellent enabling environment created by the government to facilitate their
mission which was the monitoring of the election.

In apparent satisfaction with the whole exercise, the report stated that the
team observed with kin interest the voting process counting, collation,
transmission, authentication/verifications; and the announcements and final
declaration of the results and the winners of the election and were
convinced that the people of The Gambia have been provided a free and fair
opportunity to exercise their franchise to elect a leader of their choice in
accordance with the basic democratic principle and practice that can be
expected anywhere in the world.

Nonetheless, they regretted the disturbing and unfortunate incidences during
the election campaign and expressed the belief that the occurrences received
the attention of IEC for avoidance in future elections.

Coalition of Human Rights Defenders and Transparency International

The two groups monitored the electoral processes from the preparatory stage
to actual voting, collation and declaration of results.

On the state of preparedness they observed that uncertainties were
surrounding the final voters' register up to 24 hours before the final
voting as the issue of whether or not voters whose names were not in the
register but have voters cards should be allowed to vote. They said that by
the time a decision was reached on the matter it was unable to filter down
to some presiding officers because of conflicting reports.

This, they said led to altercations in some of the polling booths
necessitating the intervention of IEC officials. "This begs the question of
when a final register does become final," they stated.

They also described as a thorny issue during the screening process, the
request by NIA that polling officers should identify the parties they
belonged, and condemned the declaration of the Fonis "a no-go-areas" by
indigenes that were supporters of the ruling APRC party. The tensions
preceding the Election Day also caught their attention and they opined that
the incident, which resulted in the death of an opposition party supporter
and the burning of a parliamentarian's house would have been averted if
there were mutual respects by the parties and a better coordination of the
campaign trail by IEC. Furthermore, they described as threatening and
intimidating to the opposition parties the heavy military presence in the
last two days to the election.

On the actual voting, they observed that the process was orderly with a few
exceptions, as political party agents, polling agents and other officials
cooperated during the exercise.

They applauded the refusal by polling officers for security personnel on
duty to vote outside where they were registered and observed that at the end
of voting the counting process was transparent and accountable.

Concluding, they said the people of The Gambia must be congratulated for the
way they elected their leader, adding that in spite of the occasional
skirmishes and clashes; there was relative peace and tolerance. They also
congratulated the leaders of all the political parties "for a well-fought
election."

Gambia Workers Confederation

The confederation reported that the election was very orderly and efficient
in Banjul as voters turned out en-mass very early and all polling stations
opened early, and the election there devoid of fear and intimidation of any
kind. Therefore, declared it free and fair.

However, all was not well in the Kerewan administrative area as they
reported that most if not all the polling stations opened late due to the
late arrival of polling materials and the directive by IEC for counterfoils
to be used for people whose names were not in the register.

A minor incident occurred when voters' stormed the polling booth in one of
the villages but security men and IEC officials there promptly arrested the
situation.

In conclusion, they submitted that the 2001 presidential elections,
particularly in the Greater Banjul and Kerewan administrative areas where
they observed the exercise was free and fair. They congratulated the entire
staff of the IEC for a job well done




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