IEC To Disband Dysfunctional Political Parties In Gambia

Vice Chairman Malleh Sallah Says Commission Would Expunge Dormant Parties From The Electoral Register

By Staff Reporter Malick Bah & Pa Nderry M’Bai Banjul

The country’s main Electoral Body---the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is working on disbanding non functional political parties currently  registered with the Commission, the Freedom Newspaper can authoritatively report. The IEC said it would deregister  inactive, or dormant political parties in The Gambia. Dysfunctional political parties are likely to receive a letter in the mail—indicating that the IEC had banned them from participating in future elections, in view of their questionable credentials as legitimate parties.

According to our sources, who are familiar with the IEC’s operations in The Gambia,  the Commission's officials are working on modalities to come to terms in order to ban the political parties—which  have  not been functioning for the past years and are still registered with the country's main electoral body.

 The opposition NDAM, whose leader Lamin Waa Juwara has teamed up with the ruling APRC to build a better Gambia, is likely to be affected by this major decision to be enforced by the IEC. Majority of Juwara’s Executive members- most importantly the foreign wing membership have resigned from the party in protest. The move followed Juwara’s political marriage with the Jammeh administration—which never went down well with his Deputy leader Ousainou Mbenga and other Executive members overseas.

Another affected political party by the IEC’s planned move to expunge dormant parties from its register was the opposition NCP, whose leader the later Sheriff Mustapha Dibba,  died shortly after he was released from state custody. Mr. Dibba  was accused of coup plot against the Jammeh administration. The NCP will likely to be banned, our sources hinted.

The opposition Gambia Moral Party (GMC), under the leadership of Mai  NK Fatty—who is believed to be resident  in Germany should also consider returning home to avoid the IEC deregistering his party.  Moves are underway to expunge  the GMC from the IEC records, sources said.

According to an official of the IEC, who spoke to our reporter observed that for political parties to be considered legitimate, its leaders must participate in active politics and stay in touch with the Commission at all times. The official said parties that are not maintaining line of communication with the electoral body are deemed nonexistent and would be expunged from the electoral register soon.  

" Political parties which are not participating in the electoral process should bear in mind that their days are numbered, because the Commission has been facing a lot of problems and challenges in trying to coordinate the activities of such “ghost” parties. We have no alternative but to ban them,” said a source close to the IEC.

Meanwhile, a source who attended a recent inter-party meeting with the IEC,  when contacted in the Gambia over the issue confirmed the story explaining that the Vice Chairman of the Commission Malleh Sallah during the meeting on Thursday February 5th 2010, which was attended by the representatives of the political parties at the IEC Headquarters along the Kairaba Avenue, together  with the UNDP representatives in the country  said they are considering to ban political parties that have not been functioning for a long time and are still registered as political parties in The Gambia.

Mr. Sallah never named names of the political parties to be disbanded, but hinted that the Commission is considering deregistering such parties. He said it is their duty to maintain the credibility of the Commission and dormant parties, whose leaders are not steering the affairs of their respective parties would be banned.