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 _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>