The case involving United Democratic Party (UDP), National Reconciliation Party (NRP) and the Minority Leader in the National Assembly, Momodou K. Sanneh as plaintiffs on the one hand and the Attorney-General and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as defendants on the other will be before the Supreme Court today.

The three plaintiffs are contesting the recent amendments to the Local Government Act by the National Assembly.

In a letter dated 1st October 2007, the plaintiffs said that the 2nd defendant informed the 1st and 2nd plaintiffs that it was formally informing them that local government elections would be held on 24th January 2008. It added that at the time that the 2nd defendant wrote the aforementioned letter Mayors of municipal councils and chairmen of area council were elected on universal adult suffrage. It is apparently against this background that the three plaintiffs filed a suit seeking declaration that the bill entitled The Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia 1997 (Amendment) Act passed by the National Assembly on 6th September 2007 and assented to by the President on 1st October 2007, runs contrary to the spirit and intent of section 193(1) of the constitution of the Republic of The Gambia and therefore void and of no effect. The three plaintiffs further seek a declaration that the bill entitled the Local Government (Amendment) Act 2007 passed by the National Assembly on 31st October 2007 and assented to by the President on 19th November 2007 was made in excess of the powers conferred on the National Assembly and the President. The suit added a declaration that the Local Government (Amendment) Act 2007 (Act N0 13 of 2007) is null, void and of no effect.

The plaintiffs also seek an injunction restraining the 2nd defendant from holding on or conducting election for municipal and local government authorities scheduled for 24th January 2008 under the Local Government Act as amended and the constitution of the Republic of The Gambia as amended.