Written by Abdoulie John

The spokesperson of the country’s electoral body, Pa Makan Khan, has expressed satisfaction at the nomination process as four presidential aspirants were invited on Saturday to file their nomination papers.

“The nomination process went smoothly. It went very well,” he told Freedomnewspaper in an exclusive interview.

The tiny West African nation is moving toward the first major election in post-Jammeh era. As 25 candidates are expected to hit the ground running, the first day of the nominations has been punctuated by a heavy security presence. Additionally, the IEC went to the extra mile to erect a big tent under which nominations are going to be held.

Out of the four President candidates, he went on, only three have seen their papers endorsed by the IEC Returning Officer.

“The fourth candidate, Mathew Gomez, did not meet up the requirements,”  Khan explained as Joseph H. Joof, Marie Sock Jobarteh and Alhaji Mamadi Kurang are crossing their fingers.

While describing the first day of nominations as “very peaceful”, Khan took the opportunity to urge the general public to follow suit in making sure the entire process remain

“We expect this to continue throughout this process,” he added.

Elections have been a source of instability in many African countries but, to many observers, Gambians have the ability to transcend their differences , and work for a better nation.