GANU Leader
By Landing Ceesay
The Leader of the Gambia Alliance for National Unity (GANU) Sheikh Tijan Hydara has confirmed pulling out of the alliance with the Gambia Democratic Congress and ‘APRC No To Alliance Movement’.
“I have my political party that is the GANU party, and I am nominated under my party. There was no marriage between GANU and APRC. We didn’t sign any agreement. I didn’t have any disagreement with former President Yahya Jammeh. We may agree on certain principles but that is between us. I am happy that he (Yahya Jammeh) endorsed GDC. My destiny is in the hands of God; my destiny is not in the hands of Yahya Jammeh. Yahya Jammeh asked his supporters to support me, so if he decides to ask them to go with GDC, that was not the case because he wanted me to be in the alliance but I opted out of it. So it is my own decision to pull out of it,” Sheikh Tijan said.
Hydara, who was accompanied by supporters, made these remarks at IEC headquarters shortly after filing his documents for nomination.
He served twice as Justice Minister under former President Jammeh from March 2003 to September 2005 and September 2005 to November 2006.
Following Yahya Jammeh’s disapproval of the embattled APRC-NPP Alliance, he ordered his supporters to back Hydara; before he instructed them to work with GDC’s Mama Kandeh in a dramatic twist, leading to GANU opting out of the alliance.
On day 5 of the nomination, the GANU leader, PDOIS, GAP and independent aspirant Tamsir M. Jasseh filed their papers for the process between 9:30 am and 2:30 pm.
The nomination of presidential aspirants continues tomorrow at the Election House in Kanifing with the National People’s Party and two independent candidates- Essa Mbye Faal and Matarr Nyang scheduled to appear between 9:30 am and 2:30 pm.
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 the 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.
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