Diaspora Voting
By Madi Jobarteh
In the run up to the 9 August 2022 presidential election in Kenya, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) identified 12 countries where Kenyans in the diaspora were able to vote.
The IEBC’s verified countries were:
- Uganda
- Tanzania
- Rwanda
- Burundi
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- USA
- South Sudan
- Qatar
- UAE
- Germany.
The IEC should have also done the same since the 2001 presidential elections to date to identify countries where the Gambian diaspora could vote. This is because the Election Act already states in Section 141 that the IEC should make rules for voting by Gambians in the diaspora.
But since 1997, the IEC flatly refused to make this happen. They have been aided and abetted by both the Executive and the Legislature to deny diaspora voting.
Today, 25 NAMs went further to validate this gross violation of the Constitution by sealing the denial by removing Clause 14 from the Election Bill. But with or without Clause 14.
The right to register and vote is an entrenched constitutional right. Any interference, infringement, restriction or denial of this right is a blatant violation of the Constitution and the Election Act
For The Gambia 🇬🇲 Our Homeland
