By Olimatou Coker
Ahead of next month’s supplementary registration of voters, the opposition United Democratic Party UDP over the weekend held a meeting to discuss what it said are measures to prevent fraudulent cross border registration.
“The border villages are equipped with voter registration centers and this can give access to people from the external border villages to participate in the country’s electoral process. We have invited the IEC, the police and Immigration Department to this meeting, but they did not turn up , despite their central role in this matter,” said Pa Buba Bojang , a UDP executive member .
Lamin Manneh, Head of External Affairs, commended members of other opposition parties for attending the meeting but lamented the absence of the security officials and the IEC.
‘All what we are trying to do here is to see how we can safeguard the Gambia by protecting our elections, and to ensure that they are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner so that nobody in the end gets to ask questions”, Manneh said.
According to Manneh, the meeting was held in West Coast region because it is the largest and most populous region in the country and therefore crucial for every stakeholder.
Other speakers including Omar Bonny Darboe, UDP West Coast regional deputy coordinator and
Modou Sarr, liaison officer to the IEC, all urged parties to be vigilant and put in place strong and vibrant political agents during the voter registration exercise.
