Rasta Presidential Aspirant
By Landing Ceesay
Rasta independent presidential aspirant Bankole Yao Jojo Ahadzie (Banky) submitted his credentials to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
When approached by the media for an interview shortly after submitting his documents to the IEC, the Rasta presidential aspirant could not grant an interview on grounds that he had done a Covid-19 test and did not want to interact with the public because he does not know his status yet.
However, Banky’s manifesto contains one-term-limit for presidency, digitalizing Gambia, free, quality education, good jobs, year-round agriculture, improving healthcare, D1 billion investment in sports and entertainment sectors, strengthening security, raising standards, among others.
Bankole Ahadzie and 2 other independent presidential aspirants- professor Momodou Bah and Ebrima Tabora Manneh, as well as Bojang, Alliance for National Re-orientation and Development presidential hopeful, presented their credentials to the IEC on Sunday, day 2 of the nomination process.
The nomination of presidential aspirants continues tomorrow at the Election House in Kanifing. 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.
The criteria for the nomination of presidential candidates for the much-anticipated December election are: a candidate shall be a citizen of The Gambia; a candidate has attained a minimum age of thirty years; candidate has completed Senior Secondary school education, a candidate has been ordinarily resident in The Gambia for the five years immediately preceding the: election; a candidate shall 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; a Sworn Declaration of Assets; a Tax Clearance Certificate; Payment of Deposit of Ten thousand dalasis (D10, 000) as amended; Representative symbol, colour and photographs of a candidate; a person who is qualified to be registered as a voter under the Constitution and the Election Act may contest as an independent candidate in any election; a political party/candidate shall abide by the code on election campaign ethics which the Commission may time to time prepare; and a submission of manifesto encouraging the spirit of tolerance and multiculturalism.