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By Assan Sallah.
The case of Joseph Henry Joof was struck out on Tuesday, 30th November 2021, by Justice Amina Saho-Ceesay of the High Court in Banjul.
Mr. Joof was part of the 15 candidates whose nominations were rejected by the IEC on Saturday, 6th November 2021, following the completion of the nominations of presidential aspirants.
He had filed a writ of summon initially but later withdrew it and filed an originating summon, which was set for hearing on Tuesday, 30th November 2021.
When the matter was called, Joseph Joof was absent and the lawyer for the IEC, Malick H.B Jallow applied for the originating summons to be struck out which was granted by the High Court.
It would be recalled that the country’s electoral body chief Alhaji Alieu Momar Njai had on November 6, informed journalists 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 also 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 a case against the decision, which he now loses.
Mr. Joof is a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice under the former government of Yahya Jammeh from 2001 to 2003. This is his first attempt to join the race to the State House and was the first presidential aspirant to be called for nomination according to the IEC nominations schedule this year.