By Tabora Bojang
The Independent Electoral Commission is set to address the ongoing controversy about former president Yahya Jammeh’s participation in the ongoing political campaign, IEC director of communications Pa Khan confirmed to The Standard yesterday.
Mr Khan said the commission is in receipt of a petition filed by President Adama Barrow’s National People’s Party against Mamma Kandeh’s Gambia Democratic Congress accusing it of “violating campaign rules” by giving platform to former president Jammeh.
Last week, President Barrow cautioned Kandeh against giving a platform to Jammeh to foment “instability” in the country.
Barrow warned that if Kandeh invited Jammeh to his campaign platforms again, he would show him that The Gambia is governed by laws.
But in a show of defiance Kandeh insisted that he will continue to allow Jammeh address his meetings, saying the president was doing so because Jammeh failed to give blessings for his faction to back NPP.
Defiant Jammeh also addressed a GDC meeting backed by the APRC No to Alliance Movement in CRR last Wednesday and two others in URR this weekend.
According to Mr Khan the commission is yet to formally respond to the NPP on the matter because a decision has not yet been taken by the commission.
“We are working on the complaint at our level and a decision will be reached and communicated to the parties concerned,” he added.
Mr Khan also disclosed that the IEC has also received a formal complaint from the National Unity Party headed by Abdoulie Jammeh against the GDC.
According to him, NUP complained that the GDC is violating campaign codes by overstaying the time allocated to them to conduct meetings at various rural constituencies thereby hampering NUP rallies.
He said the commission is yet to respond to the NUP as it investigates the query.
