By: Adama Makasuba
Lawyer Ousainou, leader of opposition United Democratic Party, has reacted to the ruling of the Supreme Court shortly after his party’s legal challenge against President Adama Barrow and the Independent Electoral Commission was struck out on technicality.
The main opposition party filed a legal challenge to the nation’s top court and sought the court to annul the election results of the December 4 presidential election which saw rival President Barrow secured 53% of the votes casted.
The party said in its petition letter filed with the court that there was fraud in the election like bribing voters and insertion of non-Gambians as well.
However, yesterday (Tuesday) the Supreme Court held that the UDP failed to comply with the rules of filing an election petition. The top court struck the petition out and placed a D100,000.00 compensation cost on UDP to be paid to President Adama Barrow.
However, Lawyer Darboe in a message widely shared by his supporters online insisted that his party didn’t lose anything, adding that the petition was not dismissed based on merit but a mere technicality.
“United Democratic Party has never left anything wrong in this country to go unchallenged. We have directed the jurisprudence of this country; we have directed how the constitution of this country should work,” he said in the message going round online.
“We have not lost anything because the petition was not dismissed based on merit but a mere technicality. We should be proud of ourselves for what we have done and will continue to do for Country,” Darboe added.
