By Tabora Bojang
The NPP candidate for Banjul South, Ousman Wadda, who lost to independent candidate Fatoumatta Njai, has claimed his opponent holds a dual citizenship, which makes her illegible to contest for parliament.
Mr Wadda alleged that Madam Njai holds a British citizenship.
Under the current 1997 constitution, a person who holds citizenship or nationality of a country other than The Gambia is not qualified for election as a National Assembly member.
Wadda told The Standard that he took up the matter with the IEC Banjul office when his team was tipped about Touma’s alleged dual citizenship status but were told nominations were already closed. “So, we could not do much at the time. We are now consulting with our lawyers and we want the British High Commission in the Gambia to come out and clear the air before we determine our next steps,” Wadda said. When contacted, the newly reelected Banjul South NAM Touma Njai said that is news to her.
The IEC director of communications, Pa Makan Khan said: “There was a period for objection, why didn’t he object at that time? It is a process and normally during the nomination, there is a space for appeals, so why did he not object until the candidate is elected already? So, at our level, we have no idea about this allegation at all. We already did the nomination and campaigns and no complaints were raised until the results are declared. We have no idea,” the IEC spokesman said.
