By Bruce Asemota
Following a hectic week of legal battle against the Independent Electoral Commission’s rejection of his nomination, Dr Ismaila Ceesay of the Citizens’ Alliance has been cleared by the High Court to contest the election.
In her ruling, Justice Amina Saho-Ceesay declared that the electoral body failed to comply with the provisions and spirit of the Elections Act Cap 3:01 in their procedure in the rejection of Dr Ismaila Ceesay as presidential candidate of CA.
Justice Amina Saho-Ceesay further stated that the rejection of Dr Ceesay’s nomination is null and a violation of the Elections Act which tantamount to a denial of his constitutional right to contest the presidential election.
The trial judge ordered that Dr Ismaila Ceesay and Citizens’ Alliance submit additional list of names and signatures for the Banjul Administrative Area.
She also awarded a cost of D200,000.00 as administrative and legal cost against the IEC.
She defended the court’s decision to order that the Attorney General be joined in this matter, because the matter is of public interest.
Speaking to The Standard after the ruling, Dr Ceesay said the court has established what the IEC should have done in the first place which is to allow them to replace the nominations they rejected in the Banjul area.
Ceesay said the party will now focus on getting the additional nomination from Banjul which he said is in fact just little over 80.
Asked whether he will contest given the limited time to the election, Dr Ceesay said the focus of the party now is to meet the requirements as ordered by the court first and then move on.
