The Executive Director of Gambia Participates, Marr Nyang, has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure thorough verification of election results
before announcing them.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion ahead of the presidential election on Friday, October 10, 2024, he emphasised that many Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in Africa face pressure from the electorates to release results prematurely.
"One of the recommendations we have made to the Electoral Commission is to verify the results before announcing. This is an issue for many Election Management Bodies across the region. They are under pressure.
"The more they sit on the results, the citizens will put pressure on them that the EC is manipulating the results. So, this is what pushes them to announce the results that are not verified. I will give the same recommendations to the Electoral Commission of Ghana. They must wait, review, and verify the results before announcing", he stated.
He further entreated journalists to be patient and avoid publishing premature election results.
"I also call on you journalists to be patient. When the results do not come on time but are still within the ambit of the law, if they go beyond, you can start making noise. But you can't push them to publish something else that is not authentic," he stated.
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