As Suso Languishes in Jail, No By-Election for Kombo North

The Independent (Banjul)
May 7, 2001

By Omar Bah
Banjul, the Gambia

Said Usuf head of training, information and public affairs at the Independent Electoral Commission has declared that there will be no by-elections for the Kombo North constituency following Musa Suso's conviction for possessing and trafficking in drugs.

Mr. Suso was until his incarceration the National Assembly member for Kombo North, which the IEC disclosed would not witness a bye-election.

Making a declaration to that effect at the IEC office Friday May 4, Mr. Usuf quoted section 51 subsections 1 and 2 of the constitution, which asserts that where National Assembly elections are anticipated within nine months, the IEC shall not conduct bye-elections for any vacant seat in the National Assembly and that seat shall remain vacant until such elections are held.

"The fact that we are not going to conduct bye-elections for Kombo North is based on law" the IEC official noted, adding that Musa Suso conviction is a legal matter and not an IEC one.

Mr. Usuf said the electoral body is very busy with the registration process for the October elections, which according to him would not spare them time to conduct a bye-election. "The seat will remain vacant until the National Assembly elections are held" he maintained. The Kombo North National Assembly seat became vacant after its representative was convicted at the Bundung Magistrate Court on Wednesday May 2nd for drug possession and trafficking. Musa Suso and co-convict Ndeneh Faal are to serve eight years and seven years in jail respectively. Musa Suso was also fined D450, 000 in default and an additional twelve years to the eight years while Ndeneh Faal received a fine of D370, 000 in default an addition seven years to the seven year prison term. Musa Suso has been sitting as National Assembly member for Kombo North since the 1997 legislative elections after a landslide victory. Now that he has lost his place in the august house a pertinent question is whether Kombo North will remain unrepresented for the intervening nine months.

Reacting to the news, Halifa Sallah a sociologist and politicians, declared that The Gambia is going through constitutional crisis. He said according to section 91 of the constitution, Musa's conviction and imprisonment for a period of more than six months give rise to the vacancy of the Kombo North constituency. Mr. Sallah disclosed that the National Assembly is considering amendments to the constitution, which he said would lead to the deletion and elimination of sections 51 to 57 of the constitution, which include the section quoted by the IEC communications officer as barring them to conduct a bye-election.

Mr. Sallah added that section 51states that if vacancy occurs within nine months of the anticipated dissolution of the National Assembly, the commission shall appoint an election day for a bye-election for a member to represent a constituency not later than 90 days after the seat became vacant. He said the problem is more about the date of dissolution of the National Assembly than anything else. As far as the constitution goes the date for the dissolution of the National Assembly is the day preceding the date established for the first session of the National Assembly after a general election. "So when is that date. It is good for the IEC to be careful when making definite statements before all these constitutional questions are addressed" he warned.

"As far as we are concerned it should be very urgent that the Supreme Court should decide the question of constitutionality of the removal of the IEC Chairman. This will resolve one constitutional dilemma and enable the inter-party consultative committee to meet with the IEC to be able to review such matters before any pronouncements are made" Mr. Sallah remarked.

Almami Touray's expulsion from the UDP hierarchy automatically throws up questions about Niani constituency, which has gone vacant in the wake of the news. It is not clear whether Mr. Touray's expulsion would warrant the holding of a bye-election in Niani to get a new man for the seat.