11
OPINION
By Essa Njie
Listening to the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Joseph Colley, babbling about the activities of unregistered political groups was indeed troubling! Firstly, Mr. Colley said that the activities of some of these actors constitute “a clear violation of section 105 of the 1997 constitution and sections 105 to 110 of the Elections Act 2025”. However, section 105 of the 1997 constitution only relates to language in the National Assembly. It states, “The business of the National Assembly shall be conducted in the English language or any other language prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly”. To correct Mr. Colley, it is section 60, not section 105 of the 1997 constitution that talks about sponsoring of candidates. It states, “No association, other than a political party registered under or pursuant to an Act of the National Assembly, shall sponsor candidates for public elections”.
I am not a lawyer, but the simple interpretation of this section is that only political parties can sponsor candidates for public elections. Clearly, those who wish to contest outside the banner of a political party can only do so as Independent Candidates, as catered for in the Elections Act. So, I do not know why Mr. Colley made reference to section 105 instead of section 60. Was it deliberate, or he did not know at the time? Even with section 60, none of the unregistered political groups have sponsored a candidate for elections, not even the Unite Movement for Change (UMC), which many believe, including myself, that Mr. Colley was referring to. In fact, should the UMC, as an unregistered political entity, attempt to sponsor a candidate for public elections, it is the responsibility of the IEC to reject such a candidate, so that the person can only contest as an Independent Candidate. That will be the correct application of section 60. On record, the UMC is yet to sponsor a candidate for elections, as sponsoring a candidate under the law requires acceptance of nomination by the IEC. So, it is not for the IEC to start pointing fingers at entities, accusing them of violating a section of the constitution when they are not yet even registered or attempting to sponsor a candidate for elections.
Back to sections 105 to 110, which Mr. Colley made reference to. It is important to note that these sections apply to political parties but not entities yet to register. Again, the interpretations of these sections are that it is political parties that are affected. How can a law apply to me when I am not bound by the provisions of that law? Say if there is a section of the constitution which states that members of parliament can engage in public conversations on the media but shall not divulge secrets of parliament. And then Essa Njie divulges secrets of parliament in the media, only for the state to hold me to account of violating that particular section, which prohibits parliamentarians from engaging in such an act. How does this section/law apply to me when I am not a member of parliament. The state can only accuse me of violating another law but not this particular section. The IEC must be seen to protect the integrity of the December polls and not to target certain political entities. Joe could and should do better!
