MINISTER CEESAY: NO INFO ABOUT APPOINTMENT OF NEW IEC CHAIRMAN
Six months after the former chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission Alieu Momar Njie announced his retirement, bringing an end to a significant chapter in the nation’s electoral history, no successor has been named yet for this most important position.
According to the Constitution, the president has the authority to appoint a new IEC Chairman in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the Public Service Commission.
Since the departure of Mr Njie , some people speculated that the next chairman may come from the serving commissioners of the IEC while others said the president could be looking for someone from other domains.
The Minister of Information Dr Ismaila Ceesay recently told The Standard that he has not received any information concerning the appointment of a new IEC chairman. He gave no further details.
A legal expert yesterday told The Standard that the biggest legal obstacle is that there is no specified time frame in the Constitution as to when the appointment must be made. “This lack of a deadline can lead to delays as the president would not be pressured to do so in a definite time frame,” our source said.
According to the Constitution, the Chairman of the IEC must meet certain qualifications such as having no political affiliation and possessing high integrity and relevant experience.
A person is not qualified for even IEC membership if he or she is a member of the National Assembly, stood as candidate for election within two years before the appointment, or held a position in an organisation that sponsored a parliamentary candidate within the last two years. The person must not also be holding a position in public office, commission, or be convicted in any country for dishonesty or moral issues.
The process of appointing and IEC chairman does not also require parliamentary approval, which means the appointment is largely at the President’s discretion after the required consultations.
Commenting on the issue, human rights activist Madi Jobarteh said while there is no time frame for the president to appoint a new chairman, the norm is that there should be no vacancy because election is an ongoing process. “So as soon as there’s a vacancy it should be filed,” he noted.
He added that a future constitution should not practically give unilateral power to the president to appoint the IEC Chairman.
“There should be a process that allows for parliamentary approval as suggested in the 2020 draft. What is provided in the 1997 Constitution is below democratic standards,” Jobarteh argued. In the meantime, the IEC is led by Vice Chairman Joseph Colley.
Source: The Standard
