Dr. Ismaila Ceesay has Renounced his Swedish citizenship as Elections Nears
Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, the Citizens’ Alliance presidential candidate, has disclosed to The Chronicle that he has renounced his Swedish citizenship as he prepares to run for president in the December 4 election. Dr. Ceesay said he has already processed the relevant documents and submitted them to the Swedish authorities to that effect.
“The necessary paperwork has been submitted to the Swedish authority responsible, and now I await the final decision.”
Dr. Ismaila Ceesay obtained his Swedish citizenship in 2002, where he began his university education before moving to Scotland to pursue a master’s degree.
Under The Gambia’s 1997 constitution, a person who holds citizenship or nationality other than The Gambia (dual citizenship) shall not be qualified for election as president.
Pa Makan Khan, The Director of Communications of The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), has told the Chronicle that the nomination of presidential candidates will begin in late October 2021. “We have already pasted the provisional voters to the various polling stations across the country.”
There is a little over 3 months before the December presidential elections. Currently, there are 18 registered political parties and 3 independent presidential aspirants.
This year’s election is believed to be the most highly contested election in the history of The Gambia, with over 800,000 registered voters and over 1,000 polling stations across the country.
