The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has announced that nomination of candidates for the Misera Ward by-election will be held at the Basse Regional Office on Monday 13thOctober 2008.

This follows the resignation of the councillor for Misera Ward who reportedly resigned from his seat to contest as an APRC party candidate.

A news release from the IEC reveals that nomination forms will be issued to the public from today Monday 6thOctober 2008 and that campaign proper will start from 15thand end on 21stOctober 2008.

The release adds that the by-election will be conducted to fill the said vacant seat in the Basse Area Council on Thursday 23rdOctober 2008.

The Independent Electoral Commission yesterday announced that it will conduct a National Assembly By-election for the Nianija constituency in the Central River Region on Thursday 18th December 2008.

According to a news release from the Independent Electoral Commission, this is in accordance with section 91 subsection 1 (d) and subsection 3 of the 1997 constitution of the Republic of the Gambia.

This follows the expulsion of Mr. Dawda Manneh, the erstwhile National Assembly Member for the said constituency from the ruling APRC party in whose ticket was elected to the National assembly.

Mr. Dawda Manneh, readers would recalled was arrested on Saturday 13th September 2008 together with one Demba Baldeh, an ex-soldier now working as a Security Guard at the Central Bank for allegedly trying to smuggle a large quantity of cannabis sativa, locally called jamba.

Seventeen permanent secretaries and a new IEC commissioner  were sworn-in on Thursday at a ceremony held at State House, and presided over by the vice-president, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy.

After congratulating the newly sworn-in officials, immediately after they had taken the oath of office, Vice-President Njie-Saidy reminded the senior civil servants that the civil service is the nucleus of government, and that they had the ability to make or break the system.

She said President Jammeh’s agenda for the development of The Gambia was bigger than what it had been before 1994. This, she said, explained why the Gambian leader had called for civil service reform. “But he cannot do it without the effective participation of all,” she reiterated.

On collaboration within the civil service, she added: “I want to see you work as one family. We count on you for the realisation of our goals.”   
The vice-president indicated that for the country to achieve its desired goals, a wealth of administrative experience is as important as academic qualification. The civil service, she went on, is faced with more challenges now than before, given its inundating development agenda. To this end, she stressed that President Jammeh wants to see “a clean, efficient and effective civil service”.

She noted that at the end of the ongoing civil service reform process, very few Gambians might wish to work outside the Gambian civil service. She, however, warned against complacency, calling on the permanent secretaries to “do what you think is right, but also consult among yourself”.

The vice-president challenged the permanent secretaries to “think and consult” before taking decisions, in order to avoid the prospects of reporting to places like the office of the Ombudsman. She also categorically warned against financial mismanagement.

Commenting on the newly sworn-in IEC member, the vice-president pointed to the formation of the IEC, in the first place, as a show of the Gambian leader’s commitment to good governance. She appealed to the Commission to continue the “good work”, saying that “you have earned a lot of credit for yourself”.

VP Njie Saidy pointed at the innumerable calls the IEC was getting from international bodies as a manifestation of the enviable and exemplary work they have been doing. She assured them of the government’s commitment to an independent IEC.

Speaking earlier on, Yankuba Touray, the secretary of state for Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, said the fact that both the secretaries of state and their permanent secretaries are obliged to take the oath of office explains the need for  collaboration between them.

The secretary general, Office of the President, Mrs Tenengba Jaiteh, attributed “hard work and dedication” to the appointment of the officials, but, she warned, “occupying a senior position is not easy”. And she reminded them that their successes and failure depended on how well they might manage and how well they would be able to marshal their teams.
Speaking on behalf of the newly sworn-in permanent secretaries, the permanent secretary, Personnel Management Office, Mr Omar G Sallah, reminded his colleagues that the PMO is mandated with the task of building the human resource capacity of the nation; a task that, he said, is unachievable in the absence of certain qualities.

He urged them to uphold the General Order as their guiding principle and called for adherence to rules and regulations. He also urged loyalty to the nation and the head of state. Mr Sallah also called on his colleagues to beware of bringing discredit in the exercise of their duties, which he said would be at the expense of the nation. He called for fairness and transparency, and praised the Cabinet for its continued support.

Madam Isatou Jallow-Ndure, who was sworn-in as the new member of IEC, expressed gratitude to the president for the trust and confidence bestowed on her.

The ceremony was chaired by the secretary to the Cabinet, Mr Abdoulie Sallah, who described the swearing-in as a constitutional requirement. Mr Sallah reminded the newly sworn-in officials that two of the oaths they had made, the oath of secrecy and allegiance, would be biding on them for the rest of their lives. He also called on them to be aware of the Official Secrets Act, amended recently.

Alhagie Momodou Lamin Touray, a renowned Islamic scholar based in Gunjur, Kombo South, was yesterday elected president of the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) on the second day of the council’s 4thGeneral Congress.

Momodou Lamin Touray and 10 others went unopposed following the end of term of the former executive.

The other executive members are: Alhagie Sheriff Bojang, 1stVice President; Sheikh Gibril Kujabi, 2ndVice President; Dr. Mbye Kebba Kah, Secretary-General; Ebrima Touray, Deputy Secretary-General; Ajaratou Jainaba Dibba, Assistant Secretary General English; Cherno Darboe,Assistant Secretary-General Arabic; Baba Drammeh Junior, Treasurer; Alhagie Mamadou Lamin Kanteh, Assistant Treasurer; Alhagie Baba Bubacarr Drammeh, Auditorand Aja Maimuna Savage, Assistant Auditor.

In his farewell speech, the outgoing president of SIC, Alh. Banding Drammeh, assured the new executive of his continued support. He called for unity and understanding among Muslims in the country. The names of these executive members were announced by the Returning Officer, Alhaji Mustapha Carrayol, Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

For his part, President-elect Alhagie Momodou Lamin Touray thanked God for his divine intervention. He also thanked Muslims for the trust and confidence they bestowed on the new executive. He concluded by appealing for the support of the entire Muslim community.

Earlier, in declaring the congress officially opened on Saturday, Ismaila Sambou, Secretary of State for Religious Affairs, urged the incoming executive to endeavour to jealously safeguard the achievements registered by the outgoing executive over the years. He encouraged them to develop projects that will enhance the economic wellbeing of the citizenry.

In his financial report, the outgoing treasurer, Sheikh Abdullahi Minteh, revealed that they have a total income of D16,600,984.99 out of which they spent D16,535,460.06 with an excess income of after expenditure of D65,524.93.

Alh. Kebba Landing Sanyang, the outgoing Auditor, confirmed these reports as correct.

Mohammed Lamin Sarr, former Secretary General of the council, outlined the activities carried out by the council. He urged the new executive to take good care of the council’s facilities both at the Doha Conference Centre and the Imam Training Centre. He said that since they took over office in 2003, there was no standby budget for the council but with a well-defined plan of action, they managed to make significant progress. He thanked President Jammeh and all those who supported the council.

The 4thSIC congress held at its new headquarters in Kanifing, along MDI road and attended by delegates from across the country, was held under tight security.

Stakeholders from political parties, civil society organisations, the media and security, on Thursday and Friday gathered at the Tendaba Camp in Lower River Region, where they validated the reports of the three regional meetings (held last year) which were geared towards strengthening the electoral system in the country.

The reports highlighted bottlenecks and possible solutions to problems in the country’s electoral processes.

At the meeting, the stakeholders agreed on a new technology as an alternative voter registration process, which is expected to enable the electoral body to issue instant voter ID cards to prospective voters and produce voters registers, which should also contain photographs of the voters.

The main objective of the system is to register prospective voters by taking their biographic details and photographs and make printouts of the voter register containing details and photographs of voters in the field without prospective voters having to go through a lengthy.

The participants also agreed on the maintenance of a credible voter register and improvement of the voter turnout during elections, especially for local level elections.

To facilitate free and fair elections, the participants recommended that IEC should intensify its engagement with media practitioners, security forces, the judiciary and political parties through training, periodic briefings and interactive fora to enhance the performance of their roles in the electoral process.

On capacity building for the IEC staff, participants recommended that one of the local higher Institutions of learning should be encouraged to run professional courses for IEC staff, especially in the areas of human resource management, material management, project planning, ICT, and administrative laws, among others.

For the long term financial independence of IEC, the participants recommended that the electoral body be transformed from a subvented agency to a financially independent governance institution as a long-term plan.

The Supreme Court of The Gambia will, effective June 23rd, commence its quarterly sittings to precide over pending criminal and civil cases lodged at the country’s highest court.

According to the official judicial notice from the Supreme Court, the June 23 sitting is in pursuant to the Rule 4 (1) of the Supreme Court Rules of The Gambia.

The court will hear 11 cases, including the an appeal case involving the constitutional case filed by UDP and Momodou K Sanneh, the minority leader and National Assembly member for Kiang West, against the state and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

The complainants, UDP, and Momodou K Sanneh, filed an appeal suit at the Supreme Court, after their petition was struck out by a single judge, Chief Justice Abdou Karim Savage. The Supreme Court, which comprises a five-member panel of judges, later adopted the decision of the Chief Justice which subsequently led to the filing of an appeal suit by the complainants.

The same notice added that an election petition case, filed in by Omar Jallow, alias OJ, will also be heard by the court.

Mr. Kawsu Ceesay, former IEC Chief Electoral Officer, has filed for an appeal against his conviction. The appeal is before the Banjul High Court presided over by Justice M.M. Yemoa.

The case was mentioned yesterday before being adjourned to enable records of proceedings from the Kanifing Magistrates Court to be made available to the court.

It could be recalled that the appellant, Kawsu Ceesay, was recently convicted by Kanifing Magistrates Court and sentenced to a fine of D50,000.00 in default to serve three months imprisonment. He was said to have forged the signature of the former IEC Chairman, Mr Ndondi Njie.

The case was adjourned to 29th May.