Six candidates are vying for a presidential term in The Gambia, including incumbent Adama Barrow. A ballot that will be played out in one round. In the capital Banjul, offices opened on time and since then voting has taken place peacefully with large crowds in electoral centers.
From our special correspondent in Banjul,
Mid-morning in the Kanifing district of Banjul, the queues stretch out in front of the three polling stations of a school transformed for the day into an electoral center. Several dozen, even more than a hundred people wait in peace, voter cards in hand. Sometimes an older man or woman will pass the crowd to avoid the wait.
Jawar got there early. He is happy to be there and understands the importance of this day. Still, he would like things to go quickly, as he has to get to work next. ” I am very busy “, He explains to us.
Same scene a little earlier, near the Independence Stadium. The sun has already risen, but it is still early. Yet voters are already there to fulfill their electoral duty. Several hours before the official opening, they were dozens to wait. And they watched attentively the deployment of electoral materials.
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The Gambia uses a unique system, a ballot. In the voting booth, each candidate has his ballot box with his photo, name and color. The voters will slip a crystal ball into it and it is the bell that allows the vote to be recorded. Before installing these famous ballot boxes, the agents of the Electoral Commission made sure they were empty, put a sand bottom to muffle other noises and sealed them under the eyes of the candidates’ representatives.
A unique voting system in the world that this voter particularly appreciates: ” It is my right to vote, I must exercise it fully. It’s democracy and I think it’s the most transparent system in the world thanks to the marbles. I like it because a lot of people here didn’t go to school. “
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At a few minutes past eight, she was the first to vote in this electoral center. Ndey Amie is all smiles when she shows us her voter card and her finger marked with indelible ink. ” I am glad I voted. I’ve been there since five in the morning. Its important to me. “
The vote is also taking place under the watchful eye of national and international observers. Several missions have been deployed in the field, whether by civil society or bodies such as ECOWAS, a sub-regional organization, the African Union or the European Union. According to the Election Commission nearly 1,000 observer accreditations were issued, a significant figure for a country with just over 1,400 polling stations.
The security forces are responsible for supervising the ballot. They are indeed visible in each polling center visited, but their presence is rather discreet.
For Lamine, crossed in the crowd, all this is the guarantee of a free ballot. Although he is no longer very young, he tells us to vote for the first time: “ I am a citizen, I have the right to vote, the vote is my voice. Before I did not vote because it was useless. There was intimidation even at the polling stations. Now it’s really different The fear is gone. “