Gambian presidential election, 2006
The presidential elections were held in 2006 in Gambia on 22 September 2006. According to one estimate had 1,641,564 inhabitants Gambia this year.
After the second term of five years, the incumbent President Yahya Jammeh presented again as a presidential candidate for a third term of office of a democratic election. Five opposition parties had come together as a National Alliance for Democracy and Development ( NADD ) to form a coalition and wanted to compete together against Jammeh. They agreed on a common manifesto for this election and the parliamentary elections in 2007, however, split again after they could not agree on a common presidential candidate.
Predial
Originally, the election should be held in October, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had early June, however preferred to the election date on the basis of the beginning of Ramadan on 23 September by a month.
From 19 June to 2 July, the voters were nationwide in 836 polling stations set up, let registration centers to register the so-called, the minimum age was 18 years.
On Monday, August 28, 2006, the candidates had to register in Serekunda in the office of the IEC on the Kairaba Avenue. For this they had to bring every 5,000 citizens, of which they were nominated. In addition, it was necessary to deposit 10,000 Dalasi ( about 280 euros ). In turn, the candidacy of Yahya Jammeh, Halifa Sallah and Ousainou Darboe was adopted. Only the candidacy of Henry Gomez, who leads the Party Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress ( GPDP ), was approved by the IEC, according to the Constitution Section 62 (1 ) ( c ), rejected. It states that a candidate for at least five years prior to the election must be resident in The Gambia. This was not the case with Gomez, he lived a long time in Germany.
The GPDP and the National Reconciliation Party ( NRP) officially supported the candidacy Darboes and thus formed an alliance with the UDP.
The choice
On September 22, the day of the Friday prayer, the 665 903 previously registered voters were asked to cast their voices 7:00 bis 16:00 clock local time. For this purpose, the IEC, the number of polling stations (polling stations ) increased this year from 832 to 938 and the Auszählbüros ( counting stations ) from 28 to 48. Some 300 international observers accompanied and monitored the election. Previously Jammeh had the end of the election campaign on Wednesday expressed September 20 self-confident that he would govern according to his opinion, 40 years and could develop the country further. Neither elections nor a coup could take him out of power. He would punish them all with contempt who do not choose him and neglect the areas that do not stand behind him.
The election itself was a unique system that has been in existence since 1965, carried out. Voters in Gambia, a country in which, in the rural areas of illiteracy is very high spreads, threw a glass marble into a drum. These were the colors of the parties ( yellow, green and gray ) and held in by the party emblem and the portrait of the candidate. Based on the sound of the marble in the case in the drum was to check if really only one vote was cast.
The election itself went according to initial reports, quiet and peaceful. Despite heavy rain in the eastern part of the country near Basse Upper River Region, the current went down during the rainy season, was expected to be high turnout. Later, when the heavy rain reached the populous west to Serekunda, most citizens had voted. Due to the adverse weather conditions, the polling remained two and a half hours longer open until 18:30, which the IEC was announced on the radio station to the population.
Election
Of the 670 336 registered voters 392 685 votes were cast, so the turnout was 58.58 percent. Jammeh was elected with 67.33 percent of the vote again with the president for a term of another five years. He had achieved the majority 47 of 48 constituencies, even in some strongholds of the opposition.
Following election results were announced: