By Tabora Bojang
Ansumana Ceesay, the IEC registration supervisor at the Deganteh registration centre in Sare Musa, Jarra West, has reportedly resigned over alleged intimidation by claimants who threatened to ‘deal with him’ if he refused to enroll them. Sources close to the scene alleged that these claimants are believed to be supporters of the ruling NPP.
However, an NPP official has told The Standard that those claims are not true. “There is no evidence that those people are NPP supporters,” a party stalwart told The Standard.
However according to a regional officer of the opposition UDP in LRR Almamo Dibba, his attention was drawn to the incident when he received a call from his agents on the ground informing him that the IEC supervisor on the ground has abruptly left the registration centre because he was working under a ‘hostile condition’.
The UDP official said his agents at the centre had alleged that NPP local officials in Sare Musa brought in a lot of people including elders at the registration centre and requested attestation forms from the IEC officials.
He said the IEC supervisor Ansumana Ceesay subjected them to stringent questioning to determine their eligibility.
“They reportedly threatened Ansumana that if he did not give them attestation forms they are going to deal with him. According to my agents on the ground, the supervisor was uncomfortable with these threats and abruptly left the registration centre in protest,” Dibba alleged.
He said following Ansumana’s departure, registration was temporarily suspended until another official was deployed.
The UDP man said the IEC officials in the region have also confirmed to him that Ansumana Ceesay has resigned as supervisor and had left the registration center, never to return.
Contacted for clarifications, the IEC director of communications, Pa Makan Khan confirmed that the supervisor had reported to work and later left the registration centre without any official explanation.
Mr Khan said despite this, the registration continued as expected. “The process is going on smoothly. Apparently, a crowd was near the registration centre but not directly affecting the voter registration team,” he said.
