By Alagie Manneh
Presidential aspirant Bankole Yao Ahadzie, whose nomination was among those rejected by the IEC on Saturday, has said he accepted the decision “in good faith” and will not make any appeal.
While many of his fellow rejected candidates have since promised to appeal, Banky said he will not take that path.
“We are not going to appeal,” said Muhammed Jonga, the spokesperson of Banky’s campaign, the WatoTJ Movement. “It wouldn’t make sense for us to appeal to the same referee who ruled against us. Since they are saying that we don’t have the required number of voters in the areas deemed necessary, why do we need to appeal again? We take it in good faith,” Jonga said.
Mr Jonga said Banky’s intention is to change the course of events, and uplift Gambians from abject poverty and backwardness by participating in the election.
“We were hopeful that we were going to take part and lead the country, but things took a negative turn.”
Asked what next after this setback, Mr Jonga said Banky is not a politician and he would move on to other things.
“He had felt the pain of the masses, their struggles and that’s why he declared his intention to try and change things. That was the reason why he aspired to be president,” Jonga explained.
On the prospects of Banky going into an alliance with any other party or independent, Jonga said he cannot elaborate.
“I cannot say much on that for now. I believe whatever we agree on, you will be notified. Banky is going to call a press conference and everything will be clear.”
Mr Jonga also took time to comment about those who ridiculed Banky for his choice of dress.
“Dress code doesn’t matter to him [Banky]. For Banky, what matters is what you have in your head. We have seen people in suits leading, but up till now they have got nothing to show for Gambia. The country is still poor. So, people should not judge the book by its cover. That is not important,” Jonga said.
