239 candidates to contest for Gambia's 53 parliamentary seats in April

The Gambian Electoral Commission (IEC) said on Monday it had accepted 239 candidates for the parliamentary elections on April 6.

The Gambian National Assembly has a total of 53 Members: 48 elected and five appointed by the President, for a five-year term.

At the end of the filing period which ran from March 9 to 12, the “239 candidates were accepted and approved” by the electoral commissioners, IEC said in a statement.

According to the electoral law, the ballot will be held “in all 53 constituencies on Thursday, April 6”, it added.

From the same source, campaigning will run from March 15 to April 4.

Among the candidates registered, according to a list distributed by the commission, about thirty belong to former President Yahya Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party.

Jammeh led the Gambia for over 22 years until he left in exile in January following his defeat in the December 1, 2016 presidential election against opposition coalition candidate Adama Barrow.