IEC Reacts To Unite’s Complaint

The vice chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission  (IEC), Cherno Jallow has said his institution does not have powers to intervene in political activities of parties or meetings outside the official campaign period, and therefore cannot address a complaint lodged by UNITE over government’s decision to hold a presidential road opening in Abuko on its nomination day, Saturday.

UNITE senior official Tombong Saidy had said the nomination will be followed by a rally at Buffer Zone which is dangerously close to the site of the presidential function at Abuko which is often characterised by huge political mobilisation.

But, Vice Chairman Jallow of the IEC said though he is yet to see UNITE’s formal complaint, “what is clear is that the Commission cannot act against meetings or decide otherwise outside periods of campaign.

“The campaign starts on November 16 and a day before the campaign, we will make reconciliations of campaign itinerary with all the parties. And it will be during this period that we can act on complaints of such nature. But until that is done we cannot act outside the campaign period on matters of such,” Jallow told The Standard.

However a UNITE official insisted that the nomination day is naturally an IEC supervisory day and called government to reconsider holding the road inauguration on a different day.