By Lamin Cham
The appointment of Oremi Joiner, also called Remi, a respected retired banker, as vice chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, IEC has been rescinded. He was appointed to replace Malleh Sallah who retired last year. Mr. Joiner, a former deputy managing director of Trust Bank, initially confirmed to The Standard that he had got his letter of appointment but was yet to be sworn in.
However, last night, Mr Joiner confirmed to The Standard that government has decided to rescind his appointment. He gave no further detail.
However, Mr Joiner’s appointment raised controversy among political actors and observers who objected to it arguing that it was in violation of the IEC Act because Mr Joiner is a co-opted member of a political party, in this case the NPP Banjul Regional Committee.
The leader of the opposition Citizens’ Alliance Dr Ismaila Ceesay, in a write up shared with The Standard said: “The reported appointment of Remi Joiner, a former Trust Bank Gambia Ltd deputy manager, will not be accepted because he is also an executive member of NPP Banjul. If this is true to be the case, we are going to challenge it. You cannot be the vice chair of the IEC and at the same time be an executive member of the NPP. We cannot accept that.”
Similar objections were raised by other political parties. The government must now find a replacement.
