Gambia: Government tells election board to resume work

By Saikou Kalleh

BANJUL, Gambia (AA) - In an apparent maneuver to help him extend his rule, the government of outgoing Gambian President Yahya Jammeh Wednesday night urged the Independent Electoral Commission to resume work just weeks after they were forced out of their office by security forces.

“The government of The Gambia hereby informs all staff of the Independent Electoral Commission that they can return to work with immediate effect,” said a government statement.

The IEC chairman had been denied entrance to his office by security forces without explanation, but the government claimed today that there had been an arson threat by unidentified persons.

Gambia was plunged into a crisis earlier this month after Jammeh declared he was annulling his Dec. 1 election defeat due to “irregularities,” and rejected all mediation efforts by regional bodies.

Jammeh then filed a petition at the country’s Supreme Court seeking to annul the results, but the electoral commission, denied an office, cannot receive the petition, a requirement before the court can consider the case.

Critics charge that is why the government allowed the commission members to return to work, though the release added, “There will be a visible security presence around the compound.”