(JollofNews) – Nominations for the Gambia’s presidential election will be held from 7th to 10th November, the country’s electoral commission has announced.
At least nine registered political parties and one independent candidate have announced their intentions to contest this year’s election. And the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said the three-day nomination period will allow prospective candidates to lodge their nomination papers with the commission.
The Gambia will hold presidential election on 1st December, with legislative and local polls to follow in April 2017 and April 2018.
The small West African nation of less than two million people has
been ruled by President Yahya Jammeh since 1994, when the then 29-year-old seized power in a bloodless coup.
Mr Jammeh who is eyeing a fifth term was re-elected in 2011 with 72 per cent of the votes.
886, 578 Gambians have been registered to vote in the election as opposed to 796, 929 in the last election.
As part of the election, the electoral commission said active political campaign will be held from 16th to 29th November. It added that it has increased the number of polling stations from 1300 in 2011 to 1422 and votes will be counted on the spot as soon as the polls close at 1700 hrs.
While appealing to the stakeholders and the general public to make the election violent free, the electoral commission reiterated its commitments to conduct accurate, transparent, free and fair elections.
