The West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) and the civil society coalition in The Gambia on Sunday held a press conference at the Paradise Suites Hotel. The objective of the press conference was for the civil observer group to issue their initial press statement about the 22nd September presidential elections.

Speaking to journalists at the press conference, Dr. Oumar Ndongo, head of the WACSOF observer team to The Gambia, said the objectives of WACSOF and the civil society coalition was based on their observations. “We are pleased to note a number of positive issues,” he said, adding that the elections were conducted in a generally peaceful atmosphere. He noted that although there were reports of few isolated cases of disturbances to the voting process, such cases were readily resolved by the polling officers.

He said civil society is particularly impressed and encouraged by the turn-out and participation of youths, women and the elderly. “The Gambian electorates turned out to vote early in the day and a good number of voters endured both the heat and the rain to cast their ballots,” he posited. He added that the attitude and conduct of the electoral commission and polling officers at the polling stations is commendable, describing them as professionals who facilitated the process of voting in a courteous and friendly manner.

Dr. Ndongo further revealed that civil society has few issues they wish to draw attention to with a view to addressing them in subsequent elections. “Civil Society did not observe campaign posters of any of the other candidates apart from those of the APRC candidate. This raises issues about the fairness of the process and whether or not a level playing field was observed for all candidates,” he observed.

He also revealed that “Civil Society observed a visible presence of large numbers of people in military fatigue in a number of polling stations across the country,” adding that the presence of these persons was a source of intimidation for many voters who registered their complaints in no uncertain terms to the observers.

While commending the IEC for the release of the official results, Civil Society made an appeal to the leadership of the political parties and their supporters to ensure a continuation of the peaceful atmosphere under which the election has been conducted.