From http://www.observer.gm News JARRA WEST BY-ELECTION 2 nominated, Independent disqualified By Ebrima Jaw Manneh & Sulayman Sowe Jun 15, 2004, 09:10 Two candidates were nominated yesterday to contest the Jarra West National Assembly by-election slated for July 1. They are Musa Saidykhan of Kanikunda for the ruling APRC and Kemeseng Jammeh of Sikunda for the opposition coalition. The coalition comprises UDP, PDOIS, NRP, Ndam and PPP. The by-election became necessary following the vacancy of the constituency seat in the wake of the jailing of the incumbent, Baba Jobe, a native of Karantaba near Soma, on charges of economic crimes. The APRC candidate was the first to be nominated by noon followed by the coalition’s Jammeh. The nominations passed off without incident. Police and immigration officers were posted in strategic locations to prevent any breach of the peace. A third prospective candidate, Famara Fadera Saidykhan from Pakalinding, was disqualified after turning up late for nomination. Independent Electoral Commission officials said he had paid the required D5,000 deposit. The IEC vice chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Carayol, said: "Mr Saidykhan was said to have been working on his income tax declaration certificate, which is one of the criteria a candidate must fulfil before being formally nominated. We waited up till 4pm but he did not turn up. So, we closed the nomination. The IEC will be meeting the contesting candidates and their campaign chairpersons today at the IEC office in Mansakonko to discuss pertinent issues regarding the by-election," he said. The IEC officials announced that the campaign for the by-election will last from Wednesday, June 16 to June 29 while the election will be held on July 1. We will retain the seat Speaking to the Daily Observer after his nomination, Mr Saidykhan, 59, a retired headmaster now a civic education officer, stated: "With the support behind me, I’m very hopeful to win the by-election and help the president with his development objectives. We will overcome the political hurdles that lie ahead so that we can gain the confidence of the electorate." A jubilant Mr Saidykhan, who was escorted to the nomination by a great number of his party supporters, vowed to retain the seat for the APRC. Mr Saidykhan reiterated to his supporters the president’s willingness to develop the country’s infrastructure, agriculture, micro and macro-economic development, relevant and quality education, water and electricity. ‘More votes’ Meanwhile, the coalition standard-bearer, Kemeseng Jammeh, 51, a former House Minority Leader and UDP Member of the seat, speaking to Daily Observer shortly after his nomination at the IEC office in Mansakonko, said, "Despite my absence in active politics for sometime now, my people still remain steadfast and more committed. I have in fact regained more ground and come July 1, this will be manifested by the votes I will receive." He continued, "The people of Jarra, particularly Jarra West, are faced with divisions in their midst. This has to be solved first because every rational politician should not allow divisions to exist within his people. It is an issue deeply disturbing my mind and I have to get rid of it at all costs" He appealed to his supporters to be law-abiding and promote peace. "My people have been all along maintaining peace and I urge then to uphold that standard. We will do everything possible to avoid clashes with our opponents," he concluded Sheikh Alkinky Sanyang contributed to this story © Copyright 2003 by Observer Company ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~