The umbrella body of civil society organisations, Tango, has told the government to address the controversial tenure of the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission with urgency.

Alieu Momar Njai, chief of the nation’s election body, has insisted that his tenure will expire in 2026.

However, civil society activists condemned the comment of Mr Njai and demanded for him to resign, as they also insisted that the chairman’s tenure expired this year, 2023.

Mr Njai has been in office since 2016 after replacing his former boss, Mustapha L Carrayol that saw the defeat of former President Yahya Jammeh. 

He was praised for being transparent and and that he has done a competent job after the 2016 elections.

However, speaking to reporters this morning at a news conference held at Tango headquarters that was centred around the 15 April local government council elections, Tango chairperson, Yadicon Njie Eribo, said: “the tenure of the IEC Chair has been engulfed in controversy since 2017. The recent announcement that the term of the Chair has been extended to 2025 has raised more concerns.”

“We wish to call on the Government to therefore review and address this issue with urgency to protect the credibility and independence of the IEC and the integrity of elections,” she added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba