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News
JARRA WEST BY-ELECTION
2 nominated, Independent disqualified
By Ebrima Jaw Manneh & Sulayman Sowe
Jun 15, 2004, 09:10


Two candidates were nominated yesterday to contest the Jarra West National
Assembly by-election slated for July 1.
They are Musa Saidykhan of Kanikunda for the ruling APRC and Kemeseng
Jammeh of Sikunda for the opposition coalition. The coalition comprises
UDP, PDOIS, NRP, Ndam and PPP.

The by-election became necessary following the vacancy of the constituency
seat in the wake of the jailing of the incumbent, Baba Jobe, a native of
Karantaba near Soma, on charges of economic crimes.

The APRC candidate was the first to be nominated by noon followed by the
coalition’s Jammeh. The nominations passed off without incident. Police and
immigration officers were posted in strategic locations to prevent any
breach of the peace.

A third prospective candidate, Famara Fadera Saidykhan from Pakalinding,
was disqualified after turning up late for nomination. Independent
Electoral Commission officials said he had paid the required D5,000 deposit.

The IEC vice chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Carayol, said: "Mr Saidykhan was
said to have been working on his income tax declaration certificate, which
is one of the criteria a candidate must fulfil before being formally
nominated. We waited up till 4pm but he did not turn up. So, we closed the
nomination. The IEC will be meeting the contesting candidates and their
campaign chairpersons today at the IEC office in Mansakonko to discuss
pertinent issues regarding the by-election," he said.

The IEC officials announced that the campaign for the by-election will last
from Wednesday, June 16 to June 29 while the election will be held on July
1.

We will retain the seat
Speaking to the Daily Observer after his nomination, Mr Saidykhan, 59, a
retired headmaster now a civic education officer, stated: "With the support
behind me, I’m very hopeful to win the by-election and help the president
with his development objectives. We will overcome the political hurdles
that lie ahead so that we can gain the confidence of the electorate."

A jubilant Mr Saidykhan, who was escorted to the nomination by a great
number of his party supporters, vowed to retain the seat for the APRC.

Mr Saidykhan reiterated to his supporters the president’s willingness to
develop the country’s infrastructure, agriculture, micro and macro-economic
development, relevant and quality education, water and electricity.

‘More votes’
Meanwhile, the coalition standard-bearer, Kemeseng Jammeh, 51, a former
House Minority Leader and UDP Member of the seat, speaking to Daily
Observer shortly after his nomination at the IEC office in Mansakonko,
said, "Despite my absence in active politics for sometime now, my people
still remain steadfast and more committed. I have in fact regained more
ground and come July 1, this will be manifested by the votes I will
receive."

He continued, "The people of Jarra, particularly Jarra West, are faced with
divisions in their midst. This has to be solved first because every
rational politician should not allow divisions to exist within his people.
It is an issue deeply disturbing my mind and I have to get rid of it at all
costs"
He appealed to his supporters to be law-abiding and promote peace.

"My people have been all along maintaining peace and I urge then to uphold
that standard. We will do everything possible to avoid clashes with our
opponents," he concluded

Sheikh Alkinky Sanyang contributed to this story

© Copyright 2003 by Observer Company

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