Gambia’s Supreme Court, sitting in Banjul with a five-man-judge panel, will Tuesday deliver its verdict on the controversial “Local Government Amendment Act,” which is being contested by the country’s opposition, judicial sources confirmed to panapress. The West African country’s Chief Judge, Abdou Kareem Savage, sitting alone in January, dismissed the suit, which is challenging recent constitutional amendments and Local Government Act, thereby stopping the election of council chairpersons by universal adult suffrage. Gambia’s Director of Public Prosecution, Emmanuel Fagbenle, who is standing for the government argued that the opposition’s attempt to get the case reviewed is ” an incompetent one”. The opposition lawyer, however, countered, saying: what we are reviewing is a final order made by a single judge. Meanwhile, the country’s parliament, which is dominated by the ruling party, has embarked on a major constitutional amendment, giving the president powers to appoint councilors instead of getting them elected. The opposition leaders, opposing the move, reacted by running to the supreme court to stop it.
