By Olimatou Coker
The Election Watch Committee (EWC) has decry the low number of women aspirants in next Saturday’s councillors election. According to the group, out of the 367 aspirants only 58 are women, representing 16 percent.
The group observed that out of the 81 aspirants who submitted their nomination 77 were accepted by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). This, the group added, shows that the low participation of women was not caused by the rejections of nominations.
Turning to its general observation on the nominations, EWC said the nomination process was peaceful and that no major incidents or disruptions were recorded except in Mansa Konko where an NPP candidate was rejected by the IEC for not being a registered voter. “The party was given an opportunity to replace the candidate,” EWC added.
According to EWC’s report, 54 out of 81 regional offices closed the nomination process on time while 25 closed before 4pm and 2 by 4:30pm.
EWC, is a partnership of seven civil society organisations with different expertise and background. The group consists of Peace Ambassadors-The Gambia (PAG), Activista, National Youth Parliament (NYP), Think Young Women (TYW), Beakanyang, Peace Hub – The Gambia (PHTG), and The Gambia Federation of the Disabled (GFD).
