By Buba Gagigo
High Court Judge Achibonga has asked Momodou Sabally’s lawyer to correct the names of the parties in his suit seeking an overturn of the IEC’s rejection of his nomination on 10thMarch.
Following the rejection, Sabally sued the commission’s Returning Officer for the West Coast Region for the 2022 parliamentary election as 1strespondent and the Chairman as 2nd respondent, instead of suing the institution (IEC) which employed the respondents.
When the case was mentioned at the High Court today, the lawyer for the independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Kebba Sanyang agued that the claim in paragraph 5 of the applicant’s (Momodou Sabally) affidavit which stated that the 2nd respondent (IEC Chairman) appointed the 1st respondent (IEC Returning officer) is ‘false’; before clarifying that the 1st respondent was appointed by the Independent Electoral Commission and not the 2nd respondent.
Lawyer Sanyang added that it is ‘false and misleading’ as stated in the applicant’s affidavit that the 1st and 2d respondents (IEC Returning officer and IEC Chairman) are the institution responsible for the administration of elections in The Gambia and presiding over the nomination of candidates for the April 2022 National Assembly Elections; when the Independent Electoral is responsible for the administration of elections and presiding over nomination of candidates for the April 2022 National Assembly Elections.
He continued that the 1st respondent (IEC Returning officer) is not an employee of the 2nd respondent and does not work for him (2nd respondent), as indicated in paragraph 7 of the applicant affidavit
Lawyer Kebba Sanyang also said that the Independent Electoral Commission issued all candidates, including the applicant (Momodou Sabally) a package containing all relevant documents including a summary of requirements for membership of the National Assembly with a copy of sections 89 and 90 of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia, which deal with qualifications and disqualifications for membership of the National Assembly and confirmed that the Returning Officer was acting on behalf of the IEC Chairman as mentioned in Sabally’s affidavit.
The judge informed Lawyer Abdoulie Fatty (Sabally’s lawyer) that the 1st and 2d respondents are natural persons whereas the Commission is a juristic person; then, Lawyer Fatty corrected the mistakes in the affidavit in court and the case is adjourned to 29th March.
Sabally wants the high court to order the electoral body to accept his nomination.
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