In the edition of this paper yesterday, the attorney general and minister of justice Mr Dawda Jallow reportedly told the National Assembly Members that there are two options still open for the Gambians abroad to exercise their franchise in the 2026 cycle of elections.
The minister revealed that Gambians in the diaspora do not necessarily have to return home in order to exercise their political and civil rights. If the diaspora is not demarcated into National Assembly constituencies, the only option remains for them to be registered under their home constituencies.
The minister went on to say that there is a second option which is that Section 88 of the 1997 Constitution for the demarcation of the diaspora into constituencies. When that happens, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will be able to work on demarcating the diaspora and ultimately registering them.
It is however worthy of noting that the IEC had earlier cited lack of funds to do this work. The law is clear that every Gambian whether he lives here in the country or elsewhere has the right to vote and be voted for. This now depends on the logistics and the availability of funds.
Now the question is this why didn’t the attorney general and minister of justice Mr Dawda Jallow not say this at the time the bill for this vote was initially tabled? Would it not have been better if he had said it at that time and save the people a lot of money which would have otherwise not been expended.
It follows therefore that Mr Jallow is only saying this now because of the outcry from almost every section of the Gambian society. The people who call themselves Gambians, wherever they are, have the right to vote and every effort should be made to ensure that this right is exercised.
The world is watching!
