Kebba Madi Bojang Demands Answers After IEC Rejects His Nomination

Kebba Madi Bojang is demanding a fuller explanation from The Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) after it rejected his nomination for president. The aspirant says the dispute centres on different birth dates recorded on his school results and national identity card. Bojang went to the commission to submit a formal complaint, bringing what he described as a letter confirming the authenticity of his West African Senior School Certificate Examination results. The IEC reportedly relied on a discrepancy between the date of birth shown on those results, 1995, and the date listed on his identity card, 1975. Speaking to journalists outside the IEC, Bojang said he wanted to see the documents used to reach the decision. He said he had been told by IEC chairman Joe Colley that the commission had checked with WAEC and found a different date of birth on the records. Bojang said he wanted the commission to provide the material behind that account, as well as the clarification he said he had obtained from WAEC. The aspirant accused Colley and IEC chief executive Sambujang Njie of treating him with hostility. He also questioned the commission’s independence, alleging that its officials had been selected by the government. Those were Bojang’s claims; the account does not include a response from the IEC. Bojang said he planned to involve his lawyer and pursue a formal challenge to the rejection. He also warned that he could take his protest to the streets if necessary, making clear he did not intend to drop the matter quietly. He widened the dispute by calling on the IEC chairman to check President Adama Barrow’s education records, including his WAEC qualifications. Bojang said he wanted the commission to seek verification from the president’s former school as well. His challenge now puts the IEC under pressure to explain the basis for its decision, while Bojang says he is prepared to keep pressing for answers.