Momodou Soma Jobe, Governor of Lower River Region, has urged  political parties  to select candidates who are well exposed and can represent them on any intellectural platform.

He challenged  political parties not to look at the interest of their partis but  the  national interest  as  councillors are the fundamental pillars of development in their various wards.

Governor Jobe made these remarks at  a two day regional consultative worskhop organised by the Independent Electoral Commission in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at Tendaba Camp in Lower River Region.

“If you go to some of our councils, it is  terible. Some of our councillors who were elected cannot even be trained  as they don’t know what is happening. So we need to look at all those things  for this is a  national issue. Let  us not look at the partisan aspect of it.  Let  us choose people who can deliver and perform well”, he said.

According to him, the IEC should be commended for their efforts in bringing  political parties together in order to share  their experiences to modernise democratization and also strengthen the electoral process in the country.

He then urged participants to sensitize the public on the forthcoming local government elections to enable them to fully understand the importance of the process.

For his part, Mustapha Carayol, Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission said governance in The Gambia is based on a written constitution, which according to him clearly defines the framework within  which the government operates, and prohibits over-concentration of authority in any one person or branch of government. 

“The role of the IEC in this arena is to ensure that the people of The Gambia are given the opportunity to associate freely and hold political opinions without undue hinderance, and to elect their representatives in free and fair elections”, he said.

Since its inception in April 1997, the IEC Chairman went on, the IEC has actively taken up its responsibility to create and manage a level political playing field on which all Gambians can exercise their civic rights and responsibilities to chose and be chosen for public office.

Mr Carayol spoke of the need to strengthen the institutional capacity of the IEC for conducting elections and ensuring the full understanding and participation of the people in the process.

“The IEC’s  aim is to enhance free political activity in The Gambia and raise public awareness of the electoral process to strengthen the national capacity for administration of elections, through the provision of improved and necessary infrastructure, communication and information facilities, and human resource development,” he explained.

The ceremony brought together stakeholders from various institutions including National Assembly Members and representatives of the various political parties.