The candidate drew the attention of the congress to an article in the GFF constitution which stated that ‘each of the seven regions should be represented by three delegates each with a voting right’. Though this effectively means that each of the three delegates from each region can vote separately, the norm in GFF elections has been that only one of the three delegates vote for the remaining two.
When the same system was announced in the last Saturday’s elections, Buba Bojang and his supporters objected to it and their queries were accepted to be correct by the NC, resulting for the first time, to the removal of block voting in The Gambia with several regions and affiliate associations (with three and two votes respectively) having all their delegates voting separately.
Commenting on this development, a constitutional expert told The Standard that the present GFF constitution is designed to encourage democracy and divergence in opinion and choice in the regions and affiliate associations by giving them more votes and powers to share voting rights among themselves. “So now it is possible for all three delegates from the regions to freely vote for any candidate of their choice at elective congresses. The Alliance rightfully insisted on its enforcement hoping to exploit it to get the votes of possible dissident delegates from the regions and it nearly worked for them. However, with some of the regions still choosing to delegate a single person to vote for them, which is not specifically outlawed, the system was weakened and I think future constitutional amendments must take this on board,” the analyst said. He however commended the Alliance for enlightening the nation about it.
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