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By Assan Sallah.
Justice Amina Saho-Ceesay is expected to preside over the appeal cases of the independent candidate cum private legal practitioner Joseph Henry Joof and Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, leader of the Citizens‘ Alliance party on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
Impeccable sources hinted that both hearings are expected to take place at the High Court in Banjul at 2:30PM on 15th and 16th November 2021.
The two appellants are part of the 15 candidates whose nominations were rejected by the country’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Saturday, 6th November 2021 following the completion of the nominations of presidential aspirants as required by law in accordance with the Electoral Act 2009.
The country’s electoral body chief Alhaji Alieu Momar Njai informed journalists on Saturday that the independent candidate Joseph Henry Joof, did not comply with Section 42 (2) (a) of the Elections Act (2009), in the sense that he submitted support of nomination by registered voters on notebooks and not on the legally prescribed form.
According to Mr Njai, in some Administrative Areas, where Mr. Joof submitted support of nomination by registered voters on the legally prescribed form, he submitted the support of nomination by less than two hundred registered voters as opposed to the legal requirement that a candidate for election to the office of President shall be nominated in the prescribed Form 1 Part A of the fourth schedule by not less than five thousand voters whose names appear in the register of voters, with at least two hundred voters being drawn from each administrative area.
The IEC Chairman therfore declared that Joseph Henry Joof’s nomination is rejected in accordance with section 47(1) of the Elections Act.
However, Mr Joof has since denied the IEC’s claim and filed an appeal against the decision.
Mr. Joof is a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice under the former government of Yahya Jammeh from 2001 to 2003. He is joining the race to the State House for the first time and was the first presidential aspirant to be called for nomination according to the IEC nominations schedule this year.
For Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, leader of the Citizens’ Alliance party, his appeal case is expected to take place on Tuesday at the High Court in Banjul, tob e presided over by Justice Amina Saho-Ceesay too, at 2:30pm.
According to the IEC Chairman, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay has not complied with Section 42 (2) (a) in Banjul Administrative Area. He was said to have submitted the support of nomination by less than two hundred registered voters, as opposed to the legal requirement that a candidate for election to the office of President shall be nominated in the prescribed Form 1 Part A of the Fourth Schedule by not less than five thousand voters whose names appear in the register of voters, with at least two hundred voters from each Administrative Area.
Dr. Ismaila Ceesay’s nomination was therfore rejected in accordance with section 47 (1) of the Elections Act.
However, Dr. Ceesay, also opposed to the rejection and filed an appeal against it.
The IEC on the other hand, is also reported to be fully prepared to defend its position legally against the rejected parties.