By: Foday Manneh
The Gambia Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has officially announced dates scheduled for the next local government elections, with activities spanning from January to May 2023.
Under section 43 of the Constitution of The Gambia, the IEC is mandated to conduct all public elections, including local government elections.
The Commission announced that the 2022/2023 electoral cycle and councillorship polls of 120 wards across the country shall be conducted on April 15, 2023.
Mayoral and Chairpersons’ elections of all eight local government areas in the Gambia will be held on May 20, 2023.
Meanwhile, the issuing of nomination forms in all IEC regional branches is scheduled for February 15, 2023, and April 17, 2023, respectively.
Nomination of candidates vying for councillorship will be held from 14th to 17th March 2023, while Mayors and Chairperson nominations are scheduled from April 27 to May 3, 2023.
According to the CEO of the IEC, Sambujang Njie, all candidates shall have their nominations in the regions they are vying for the elections.
“This nomination period will last 14 days because of the high number of political parties. Today, we have 19 officially registered political parties with two pending applications.” He added.
The campaign period for council elections will run from March 31 to April 13, 2023, and from May 5 to the 18th for Mayors and Chairpersons across the country.
The IEC will also conduct a nationwide voter card replacement exercise for registered voters from March 31 to April 7, 2023.
