The Election Watch Committee (EWC), a partnership of 7 organisations with different expertise and background has recommended that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) publicly provide polling stream level results in a machine-readable format in a timely manner as a measure of transparency.
The EWC made the recommendations while delivering its preliminary statement on the recent Local Government Elections (Councilors) at a joint press conference with CSO Coalition on Elections at TANGO Conference Hall on Sunday.
The EWC observed that the publication should include the results from the presidential and National Assembly Elections which have still not been published on the IEC's website.
It also called on IEC "to ensure all polling locations are accessible to all voters, particularly the elderly and persons with disabilities and in addition, take additional measures to make the process more accessible such as written material for the hearing impaired and listing the candidates' names in braille on the ballot drums."
The preliminary statement, according to EWC, is based on reports that they (EWC) have received from all 104 stationary observers deployed to polling streams proportionally nationwide by the end of the day on 15th April 2023 and 14 observers at collation centers.
"The EWC has observed all key aspects of the electoral process beginning with the political party candidate nomination and the campaign period. At each stage of the observation, the EWC released its findings about the respective processes and issued recommendations to election stakeholders. It also called on the media to continue to demonstrate professionalism in its reportage and ensure citizens continue to receive accurate information about the election process.
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It urges security forces "to continue to demonstrate neutrality and professionalism in dealing with electoral related matters."
To political parties and candidates, EWC recommended that party agents are properly trained on election procedures and understand their role in observing voting and counting process for future elections.
It further stated that based on reports from its observers deployed to polling streams in all administrative areas, Gambians peacefully participated in the Local Government elections and faced little or no challenges in casting their vote.
It also said that the "IEC polling officials generally followed procedures during the voting, closing, and counting process. Party agents were present in all of the polling streams observed by the EWC, and did not object to the counting in nearly all observed locations." it said stated.
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