Citizens’ Alliance leader
By Landing Ceesay
After filing his details for his nomination on Tuesday, the Citizens’ Alliance leader said the December election is about the next generation.
“The 2021 presidential election is about the next generation, is about the future, is about the lives and livelihoods of children yet unborn. That is why we at CA, are not only concerned with trying to find out the solution to today’s complex problems; but also trying to understand future problems as they emerge by looking at trends. You will agree with me that, if current demographic trends continue and if projections are to be accepted in terms of population we would reach 5 million people in 25 years within a generation.
“If today, we have a country with 2.5 million people and we can barely afford to provide clean water for these 2.5 million people, we can barely afford to provide electricity for these 2.5 million people, we don’t have enough food for these 2.5 million people, not enough hospitals, hospital beds, hospital medicines for these 2.5 million people, not enough jobs for our young people for these 2.5 million people. What will happen to this country if we were 5 million where 70% will be young people needing jobs wanting to live a dignified life? What will happen to those small kids who begin to go to school in 25 years? What kind of schools are we going to build for them? What kind of schools are we going to build for them? What kind of educational system are we going to have? What kind of environment do we want to leave for our kids? We need to start thinking now and find solutions,” Dr. Ismaila Ceesay said.
On day 4 (Tuesday) of the nomination process at IEC headquarters, Dr. Ceesay, Mama Kandeh, independent aspirants Mamadi K.S. Camara and Mamadou Bah presented their credentials to the IEC for consideration.
The nomination of presidential aspirants continues today at the Election House in Kanifing with GANU, PDOIS, GAP and independent aspirant Tamsir M. Jasseh scheduled to file their papers between 9:30am and 2:30pm.
The process would complete on Friday, and the details of the aspirants are on Saturday expected to be published for public scrutiny, before the Electoral Commission would either accept or reject them.
For a successful nomination every aspirant should: be a citizen of The Gambia; attain a minimum age of thirty years; complete senior secondary school education; be ordinarily resident in The Gambia for the five years immediately preceding the election; be nominated by not less than five thousand voters whose names appeared in the register of voters with at least two hundred voters being drawn from each Administrative Area; present a sworn declaration of assets; present a tax clearance certificate; make payment of deposit of Ten-thousand dalasi (D10, 000) as amended; have a representative symbol, colour and his/her photographs; be qualified as a voter under the Constitution and the Election Act may contest as an independent candidate in any election; shall abide by the code on election campaign ethics which the Commission may time to time prepare as a political party/candidate; and submit a manifesto which encourages the spirit of tolerance and multiculturalism.