The leadership of the opposition United Democratic Party has alleged that the election of Adama Barrow as President of The Gambia was invalid because of corrupt practices.
Speaking at a news conference in Banjul for the first time since the supreme court dismissed its election petition that seek the court mandate to overturn the election of President Barrow alleging widespread voter buying and rigging, Darboe released findings of UDP report on the elections.
” The UDP campaign and elections team identified discrepancies in the results as they were being announced publicly and brought this to the attention of the leadership. Upon further scrutiny, it was revealed that indeed true there were discrepancies observed. The legal team was then invited to investigate and ascertain if the evidence obtained were true and worthy of the matter being taken to the courts. Further investigations confirmed the allegations,” UDP Leader, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe told reporters in Banjul.
” The legal team worked tirelessly with our officers on the ground and sought to support documentation from the IEC to verify the authenticity. They were able to come up with over 2000 pages of evidence and testimonies of the anomalies detected. Regrettably, the Supreme Court threw out the case based on technicalities. When we attempted a second time to bring to the attention of the courts the findings of the registration and voting anomalies, the Supreme Court rejected our petition.
Upon consultation with the National Executive, it was agreed that as a party, we owe it to the Gambians who voted for the United Democratic Party to reveal what happened to their votes. As such, the United Democratic Party has decided that given the amount of information collected thus far, it will, commencing today, reveal to the general public the findings of the election’s anomalies. The findings will be shared with the media and the general public for their information over the next coming weeks.”
These revelations, he added include as follows: ” The election of Adama Barrow was invalid because of corrupt practices: Adama Barrow was not duly elected or returned and his election as otherwise invalid; The votes cast in favor of Adama Barrow in all regions are void because of corrupt and illegal practices; The election is otherwise invalid because of the non-compliance which affected the result in favor of Adama Barrow.
The election is otherwise invalid by the non-compliance with the constitution and all applicable laws.”
The UDP leader further told Journalists: ” On 28th December 2021, the court struck out on the ground that the UDP failed to comply with Rule 11 of the Elections Petition Rules even though the Chief Justice had earlier fixed cost at D300,000.00. An application for leave to file a review application was rejected.
Denied the opportunity to present evidence in support of allegations of corrupt practices. The witness statements and supporting material deposited in court included corrupt practices committed during the campaign period.”
” At least 26 incidents of corrupt practices committed by Adama Barrow or his agents with his knowledge,” Darboe alleges.
