Politics: African Women Poised For Development - Marie Sock

Marie Sock

Women in Africa have shown determination at making sure  governance is geared towards giving positive developments towards humanity.

Marie Sock, Gambian Presidential candidate made this vow as the main focus of her intention to  run for the exalted number one seat in the country.

According to her, women are special gender that is meek, caring and passion towards human development.

The humane businesswoman and politician who's made headlines for her presidential aspirations in the 2021 elections. Born in Banjul,attended Saint Joseph's High School before moving to the USA for her university education.

 Sock a leader of Alliance of Social Democrats (ASD), is also into  real estate and property management company and has been vocal about her plans to transform The Gambia into an enviable epitome of development amongst comity of countries in Africa and globally.

While enumerating Some of her key priorities to include economic development,Investing in sustainable agriculture practices, promoting economic growth, and creating jobs for the teeming youths across the country.

Noting that reforming the education system to focus on vocational and technical training tailored to the economy's needs The Gambian.

The Presidential hopeful posits that Women and Youth Empowerment supporting entrepreneurship and providing opportunities for young people, and promoting women's rights shall be given priority.

Saying good governance increasing transparency, accountability, and tackling corruption is part of key focus that her administration will hinge governance in the country on when elected.

Sock, who  has also been critical of the government's handling of issues like irregular migration, inflation, and the purchase of expensive SUVs for National Assembly members in the country,has vowed to expose any hidden deals related to Gambia's rumored oil reserves and promote systemic change in the country towards a better future.

The Gambia is a long strip of land that follows the course of the River Gambia, and is situated on Africa's west coast, bordered on either side by Senegal. 

The Gambia has a unique system of voting that does not involve the use of paper ballots in casting votes. Instead, it uses marbles.

Voting with marbles was introduced in The Gambia by the British in 1965 when the country first obtained its independence because of the low literacy levels in the population at the time. The system has continued to be in use.

In the place of ballot boxes, there is a metal cylinder with a hole in the top. The containers are arranged on a table inside a voting booth and painted with the party colours of candidates as well as their photos for ease of identification. Each voter drops a marble into the container representing the chosen candidate.

The final tool used in this unique form of voting is the counting box. Marbles are emptied into a square tray that is dotted with holes. At the end of the voting, counting is done on the spot.

The holes in the trays get evenly filled with marbles. The total is then tallied and recorded on the spot for representatives of candidates and voters.

Counting on the spot ensures fairness and builds public confidence in the electoral process.

The candidates who have questioned the results have pointed to procedural issues in the delayed counting by the independent electoral commission. No evidence of fraud has been presented to prove that the results were rigged in favour of the incumbent over the period.