6. The complainant pointed out that the (Gambian) Elections Act, Section 22(5), states that the judgment of the Gambian Supreme Court shall be final and conclusive; thus, appeal to the Privy Council is impossible. 7. As to the merits, the State originally claimed that The Gambia does hold free and fair elections. 8. In the urban areas a form was signed and address and compound number, occupation, constituency and photo, were included wherever possible. These were checked by the registration officer both at registration and at the elections, providing adequate protection against fraud. Likewise, in the rural areas, the personal identification by the village headman took place both at registration and at the elections. 9. The state claimed that it is almost impossible in a developing country like the Gambia to ensure control by street addresses and compound number. Many dwellings in the Gambia, including in the urban areas, do not have street addresses and compound numbers, but are registered in the names of the owners. It is therefore impossible to make this requirement absolute. 10. The state further argued that it is impossible to require showing of identity papers at the time of registration and election as a high percentage of the population does not have identification papers. It was not before 1985 that a National Identity Card was introduced and now not more than 50% of the population has been registered. 11. In July 1994 there was a change of government in The Gambia. The present government strongly condemns the claims of the previous government that the streets of Serrekunda were not named with sufficient specificity to permit making a street address a mandatory requirement for voter registration. The present government calls this claim ‘inexcusable and indefensible’. 12. The present government, by its ‘Admission of Communication No. 444.90 from the Peoples Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism-PDOIS against the State of The Gambia’ concedes that the grievances expressed by the complainants are valid and logical. It expressed its intent to change the current system to correct the present ‘anomalies.’ Procedure