Presidential from 10,000 to 500,000 Dalasis, Parliamentary from 5000 to 50,000
Dalasis, Councilor from 2,500 to 50,000 Dalasis, and the post of District Chief from
2000 t0 50,000 Dalasis.
The number of signatures needed to register a political Party was increased from 500
to 10,000 registered voters. Also, the registration of membership of a Political Party
was increased from D500, to D10, 000 with at least 1000 candidates coming from
each administrative area. The number of constituencies were increased from 48- 53
without due legal process.
That the said amendment was not subjected to public debate or popular scrutiny at
Constituency, Party or District Levels and was made without consultation with any
of the seven opposition Political Parties. That the explanatory notes delivered to the
National Assembly did not give reasons for increasing the deposits of the
Candidates, neither did it highlight the defects of the current deposits, nor explain
the necessity for increasing them.
That the statistical data captured for eligible Voters registering from 14th January to
12th March 2016 were: Banjul- 649, KMC- 5,001, Brikama- 13,039, Kerewan –
6,245, Mansakonko – 2,732, Janjanbureh – 9,639 and Basse – 7,242. These figures
makes the requirement of having at least 1000 Members from each Administrative
Zone clearly unrealistic.
The Plaintiffs further allege that there is no subvention for Political Parties in the
Gambia. That while opposition Political Parties will be subjected to this monumental
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