By Gordon Jonathan Lewis, UNICEF Gambia Representative

Seventy-five years ago today, the world came together to create the UN children’s agency to support and secure the lives of children affected by World War II.  UNICEF was founded on the principle that no child, no matter who they are or where they come from, should be subjected to violence, abuse or neglect, and on the commitment to galvanize efforts to build a world where every child can survive, thrive and reach their full potential.  For 75 years, UNICEF has stayed true to this cause, and for decades, UNICEF has championed child rights in The Gambia and around the world.

As we celebrate this historic milestone, we are also reminded of the promise we made to children, 32 years ago, when the world adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  In ratifying the Convention, The Gambia committed itself to put the best interests of children first in everything it does.  Children and young people are The Gambia’s most treasured resource – they will lead the next generation that will usher in change and build the future that every Gambian aspires.

Building that future requires urgent action by the government, its partners and local communities to improve the quality of education, make vaccines available for every child, invest more in the mental health of children and young people and scale up efforts to address the climate crisis.

With more than 78% of primary-school-age children in school, The Gambia has made remarkable gains in making education accessible to children across the country.  But for many children, being in school does not equal learning.  Like most developing countries, The Gambia faces a learning crisis which, if left unaddressed, could jeopardize the country’s development.   We must urgently reverse the situation by investing in an education that builds basic reading, writing and math skills, as well as competencies in problem-solving and critical thinking that young people need to be productive. We must also invest in building the skills of teachers and motivate them to teach more effectively.

Making vaccines available and accessible to every child helps protect them against diseases, such as measles, polio and smallpox, and to grow healthier and perform better in school. The Gambia has an impressive vaccination record and we must work together to sustain it.  We must invest more in the procurement of vaccines, improve cold chain facilities and combat misinformation that is driving vaccine hesitancy.  In tandem, we must do more to reduce wasting and stunting among young children and scale up programmes and policies that guarantee the nutritional health of every child.

Digital technologies are revolutionizing the way children communicate, learn and socialize.  But for many children and young people, staying online comes with huge risks.  84% of respondents in a recent U-Report poll “think online sexual harassment and bullying is a problem for children and young people in The Gambia”.  Yet, even beyond the digital platforms, children and young people are increasingly becoming anxious about the future.  It is time to protect and care for children’s mental health and to integrate their mental health into primary health care.  This must be accompanied by a strong policy framework that ensures all children live free of violence, abuse and exploitation.

In another U-Report poll, close to 50% of young people in The Gambia said rains and floods were the biggest climate change-related challenges their communities were facing, and 50% said that reduced food production was the biggest threat to their livelihoods. This is strong evidence that the climate crisis will be a permanent fixture in the lives of Gambian children if urgent action is not taken.  It is time to address the climate crisis, scale up investments in climate adaptation and resilience, and strengthen children’s and young people’s participation in climate decisions.

So, on and beyond our 75^th anniversary, our promise to every child is to never give up on you, continue listening to you and providing the platform to amplify your voices and demand the protection and fulfilment of your rights.  In upholding our promise to you, we will never give up!

By Capt. Ebou Jallo    11 December, 2021

Aristotle once wrote that “man is by nature a political animal” and hence the German philosopher Hannah Arendt would later add that the identity/meaning-constructing realm of the public sphere fulfills a deep human need.  Indeed, President Barrow was not prattling when he called himself a political animal. Elections happen within a moral matrix of a society where emotions and sentiments carry more weight in our judgments than reason.  This is one law in campaign politics that some “educated” Gambians can never understand because the idea is so simple and yet elusive to the inattentive and the egotistical.

I have read some post-elections diagnostics of what happened on 4 December but none really understands the depth of the issue which can be reduced to these four propositions:

(a)   Political judgments are intuitional and not logical.  They can either bind or divide a society.

(b)  Passions or emotions always subordinate reason or rationality.

(c)   If you want to persuade others to vote for your party, then you must appeal to their deep-rooted sentiments.

(d)  Politics is all about learning from people who disagree with you; and not listening to your own echo chambers.

Let us put this “theory” to a test with a simple thought experiment:  If you ask any UDP party militant two questions: “Is it wrong to have sex with a white horse?” and “is it wrong to vote for Barrow?” Almost all UDP supporters shall unfailingly answer with a vigorous “yes”, but none can possibly explain why.  They may most likely give a conditioned “reason” why they think such actions are wrong betraying in the process the ironclad limitations of their prejudices with arguments that support their conclusions.  This only shows that reason or rationality is a tool that is neither impartial nor objective.  Rationality is just like a briefcase lawyer or a government spokesman… No wonder lawyers make very lousy politicians- their lack of wisdom, political judgment; and especially the lack of capacity for empathetic understanding of others, sensitivity to the socio-political environment and immediate reality.  If you want to change people’s mind to vote for you then you must appeal to their hearts, the seat of emotions.

People elect candidates in elections the same way they acquire food preferences. This is not mere speculation but a well-researched study by world renowned scientists. My favorite example is the work of the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt who wrote the book “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion”.  People choose parties and candidates like they chose their favorite cuisines and if Henry’s “Dahin Sipa Sipa” smells more appealing than anything plain yellow then they will stick with Henry.

Haidt argues we do have universal moral “taste receptors” like our palate which can sense political flavors. This bridges our biology to our politics once again reflecting Aristotle’s political animal.  Most of the opposition ‘flavors’ or brand revolves around either personalities or their so-called manifestos.  None of their personalities except Barrow’s appealed to the voters.  UDP had a 5- point promises or agenda, Essa Faal had a Soobeya Blueprint that looks like a pitchbook straight out of an investment bank; and PDOIS has a manifesto more obfuscated that Karl Marx’s dialectical materialism—none of which appealed to most people who voted last Saturday.  Barrow had one simple and elegant agenda: victory at all costs.  This resonated more with the innate moral foundations of authority, sanctity, and liberty with a powerful subliminal appeal that voters cannot resist.  Political elections are evolutionary fitness tests in the public realm.  We all carry a selfish gene with a deep desire to always win and flourish.  Incumbency gave him the authority/sanctity appeal; and his personality is simply non-overbearing. President Barrow tapped deep into this human genetic interest with a stroke of unanalyzable genius and skill; and he won!

The UDP in the other hand made subliminal appeals to identity politics (Aji Yam Secka in Niani and Lawyer Darboe in Basse) which were nothing but empty parochial altruism- feigning an inclination to care more about a particular tribe at the expense of the state.  This has been the UDP’s fatal flaw throughout the campaign.  Caring for any socially integrated group of Gambians must be more than just symbolic.  A politician must demonstrate care for the people by communicating with candor, sincerity, and making universal appeals to all Gambians in all regions of the country.  The UDP is so convinced of their own self-righteousness agenda to a point of blind sighting themselves at their own peril.  It takes real courage to challenge/question one’s belief system and demons.  Moral courage allows for the interaction of heart and mind in a healthy mental framework and in politics.  Hopefully, their earth-shattering defeat in the polls shall teach them a lesson to be civil in their politics and learn from their opponents by empathizing with dissent.

By Madi Jobarteh

Given the storm that has arisen in the wake of the December 4 presidential polls, many people have reached out to me asking how elections are conducted in the Gambia and if it could be manipulated or cheated. Of course, over the past few days, I have also heard so many outrageous stories being peddled that the election was stolen. Thus, as someone who has been involved in elections management in the Gambia over the past 15 years, this is what I tell those people.

First of all, the materials used for elections in the Gambia are the metallic ballot drums with a nozzle and a bicycle bell fitted inside the drum just below the nozzle, and translucent crystal balls or marbles. Probably this is the most primitive, direct and simplest election materials in the history of the modern world. Yet, by its crudeness it is also the safest, most secure and most difficult to manipulate or cheat.

In Gambian elections, the polling staffs includes staff from IEC and party agents. Every party or candidate in the election is required to provide an agent at every stage of the election. Together they all sit at the polling desk to receive voters. These agents are provided the voter roll so that together with the IEC staff, they also check if a voter’s name is on the list or not before the voter is handed a marble by the presiding officer. Hence no one can vote without a party agent not knowing and seeing the name of that voter in the voter list for that polling station. If he does not see it, he can raise objection and record and report to his or her party.

First of all, before voting starts, all polling staffs (both IEC and party agents) swear to an oath of due execution of office and secrecy, publicly. Then the presiding officer opens the ballot drums one by one so that all polling staffs look into it to confirm that they drum is actually empty. Then the drums are sealed with some kind of tough material which cannot be untied except broken or cut. Each seal has a serial number which polling staffs (including party agents) are required to record. This is the basic opening procedure before voting starts.

Before the ballot drums are placed in the voting booth, they are tied together by metallic binding wire by their handles such that one cannot move one drum alone but will need to move the entire set of drums together. And I can tell you that these drums are damn heavy. These opening of polls procedure also include the presiding officer counting the marbles she has received which are recorded by all the party agents present, as well as by observers and the journalists if they want to.

Next, at the polling station, there are domestic and international observers in addition to media. There are also voters who are already in the queue watching everything from a distance. The security officers on elections duties are also present and witnesses to every step of the procedure. Therefore, the setup is such that the election materials are secure and safe at all times and viewed by all.

When voting starts, the presiding officer sits closest to, but outside from where the ballot drums are placed so that she can hear the bell ring when a marble is dropped inside. If the presiding officer did not hear a bell ring after a voter gets in and comes out, she can ask the voter whether he voted or not. Furthermore, she can decide to go inside the booth to confirm but she has to be accompanied by the security officers and party agents. Sometimes some voters put a marble in their pocket and leave or just place it on top of the drum instead of dropping it inside. The presiding officer can intervene to either retrieve the marble or show the voter how to vote.

At the close of polls, the presiding officer asks the party agents and the security to go inside the voting booth to retrieve the drums which are still tied together. But first the nozzle through which marbles are dropped is sealed to prevent any more voting. Then the left-over marbles are counted and recorded as in the beginning. Remember at every stage of these procedures from the beginning to the counting of the vote, various forms are signed by the IEC officers and party agents to ensure confirmation.

After this, the drums are then taken out and placed in the middle of the polling station in full view of everyone before they are opened one by one. Once again, the polling staffs including party agents cross check the seals and their numbers to make sure that they are the same numbers they had recorded during the opening process. When everything is confirmed then the seals are broken with a plier or knife.

It is now that counting on the spot begins drum by drum on a counting tray which can carry either 100 or 200 marbles at a time when filled. The process continues this way until the end. It is also necessary to note that the polling station is not to be populated by everyone. Rather, there are accredited persons listed who can be present in the polling station, especially at these procedural stages to ensure non-interference. The security has the power to remove any unaccredited person. The observers and media can also report the presence of such persons.

At every stage of the counting process, the figure is recorded by all polling staffs and party agents on prescribed forms. The number of votes for each candidate are announced loudly for all to hear. When counting is done, then the Presiding Officer takes the result to the collation centre for verification by the Assistant Returning Officer. The results are escorted by security officers and party agents from the polling station. At the collation centre, there are also two party agents to observe the tabulation and upon satisfaction they sign the result form.

Next the Assistant Returning Officer sends the results in a sealed envelope to the IEC Regional Office who also verify. At the Regional Office, there are also two party agents who also observe the verification and upon satisfaction they sign the result form. Next the results are transmitted to the IEC headquarters where there are again party agents to verify the results and then sign the results form. It is after all these processes of verification in the presence of party agents, that the IE Chairman would now announce the results to the nation.

Therefore, the results that go to the Assistant Returning Officer and then to the Regional Office and then to the IEC headquarters is the same result that party agents already have and know. By that time, they would have already informed their party structures about the results. Remember, when in 2016 elections IEC announced the first results, by then Yaya Jammeh had already known that he had lost to Adama Barrow by 19 thousand votes which he himself said. Therefore, how can anyone cheat elections in this country? Even Yaya Jammeh could not cheat on election day and he never attempted because it is practically impossible.

The only way to cheat on election day in the Gambia will be to burn down the entire polling station, or destroy ballot drums, or prevent party agents, observers and the media from being present at the polling stations or bribe all of them not to record or make false claims.  Who can do this?

Therefore, the claim that December 4 presidential elections are stolen is utterly false and outrageous.

Therefore, to those who are in doubt about the credibility of elections in the Gambia, rest assured that there is no cheating on election day in the Gambia, so far. Never. It is not possible. If it happens, no one will be in doubt.

For the Gambia Our Homeland

Essa got a little over-confident when going into this. He thought his new-found fame that came by the grace of the TRRC would translate into votes. He shouldn’t forgive the person who told him this lie.

Essa actually looked like something who was going to do really well in this election. Since announcing his bid in September, a lot of citizens quickly endorsed him. His Buffer Zone meeting was well attended and little wonder he declared that the love was real.

It now looks like fake love going by this election. I predicted that Essa would come third in this election and failed. Even Halifa who Essa taunted as having crude ideas at the presidential debate did better than him. This is some rude awakening for the flamboyant lawyer.

This election came with a mixed bag of shock and surprise for some including Essa. One would have expected him to do well in Banjul at least. This is where he comes from. But only 612 people saw him worthy of being president out of a staggering 21,000 voters.

I felt sorry for him when I saw him wave at a crowd of supporters that gathered at UDP leader Darboe’s house as he arrived at Darboe’s house to meet the UDP leader. That was a fake wave. This was a clearly stunned and shocked and confused man. A man who couldn’t understand what was happening to him.

Essa must now take stock of his disastrous performance. His performance has betrayed his TRRC fame and he has to conduct an inquiry into what went wrong.

Today marks International Human Rights Day dedicated to the promotion of human rights awareness and protection in celebration of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The day cannot be more significant for the world in these times, especially for the Gambia which just came out of a 22-year culture of human rights violations under the APRC Regime. It is five years since Gambians ousted that regime yet the protection of human rights remains a challenge in this country.

The theme for this year is, “Equality, Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.” This theme relates to the human rights principle and objective of ‘Equality’ as espoused in Article 1 of the UDHR that ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’ The principle of equality is at the heart of human rights. Where there is equality, there is non- discrimination. Hence without accepting that all human beings are equal in rights and dignity regardless of sex, origin, tribe, belief, birth or any other status, there will be discrimination which gives birth to exclusion, prejudice and leads to violations.

It is obvious that there is a high prevalence of inequality in the Gambia, socially, economically and politically. There is widespread and deep-seated culture of discrimination, exclusion, prejudice and violence in this society. These are based upon and fuelled by the caste system and patriarchy which are fused with the stinking culture of corruption and lack of accountability across the society. As a result, there is a perpetual violation of the rights and dignity of persons on account of their origin, birth, sex, disability, age or other status. These violations are perpetrated in Gambian homes, schools, markets, streets and other public spaces, in the communities and work places in the public and private sectors.

The 1997 Constitution guarantees the equality of all citizens. Section 1 subsection 2 stipulates that sovereignty of the Gambia resides in the people, meaning all Gambians are equal in sovereignty, hence rights, as the source of power and authority. Chapter Four of the Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms of all citizens without any distinction. It has guaranteed the equality of men and women in Section 28, the rights of children in Section 29, and the rights of persons with disabilities in Section 31. Furthermore, Section 33 guarantees the right of all before the law and prohibits any law that is discriminatory. These constitutional provisions on equality are further buttressed by the Women’s Act, the Children’s Act and now the Disability Act, among other laws.

However there still remains some provisions in the various laws of the Gambia that undermine equality in various ways. At the same time, despite the Constitution guaranteeing equality, several cultural practices remain that contravene the Constitution on this issue. The prevalence of the caste system in many communities is an affront to the principle of equality. The caste system does not only perpetrate and perpetuate inequality but also encourages discrimination, dehumanisation, and violence against persons including sexual and gender-based violence while limiting the voice and participation of citizens in the affairs of their communities. Therefore, there is need to abolish the caste system because it is an offense to a democratic republic.

As we celebrate this day, it is also pertinent to highlight that after five years of removing the Dictatorship, draconian provisions still hold sway in the Criminal Code, Public Order Act, Information and Communications Act, the Elections Act, Official Secrets Act, while anti-human rights provisions can be found in the Constitution such as denying persons to hold certain public offices simply because they hold a dual citizenship. These laws need to change in order to guarantee equality not only before the law but also ensure availability and access to opportunities, power and enhance citizenship participation.

Equally concerning on a day like today is to realise that violations of rights continue to take place perpetrated by the State and non-state actors of which there have been no accountability until today. Without accountability, human rights are meaningless simply because violations and perpetrators go unchecked hence impunity. Over the past five years there have been numerous violations for which the Government said they were investigating yet there has been no result shared with the public.

These cases include the gruesome murder of Marie Mendy and Zilson Gomez for which there is still no justice and accountability since April 2021. The cases of Haruna Jatta of Kanilai in 2017, Ousman Darboe in Sere Kunda as well as Kebba Secka in Senegambia continue to be ignored since 2019. Until today, no one knows the case of PIU officers who were standing trial for the killing of protesters in Faraba in 2018. In May 2021, an 11-year old boy was raped and there is still no justice. In October 2021, a fire incident at Bilal Boarding School killed 5 young boys yet until today there is no justice. Where are the police investigation reports?

As recent as this week, we have seen the paramilitary police use unnecessary force on unarmed citizens in and around the compound of UDP leader’s home leading to injuries. Rather PIU officers were seen celebrating their actions of using teargas on people. We are yet to see any investigation by the police on the actions of it officers in that incident. In Brikamaba, drug law enforcement officers severely manhandled a young man in September leading to severe bodily injuries. That incident as well as the assault on one Ebrima Sanneh by the Commander of the Anti-Crime Unit Gorgui Mboob in 2020 all point to not only the destruction to human rights in this country, but also the failure of security sector reforms.

In all of these cases, either there is no justice or justice is being subverted in such a way that the perpetrator is rewarded while the victim is neglected. As the Gambia have just elected a new president, it is critical therefore that these issues be brought before him so that the necessary attention is given to these issues. Meantime, if there is any lesson to learn, it is that all citizens must now stand up to become Human Rights Defenders in this country. If we fail to do so, then the rights of each and every one of us are under threat.

For The Gambia Our Homeland

……………………………………………..

Madi Jobarteh

Skype: madi.jobarteh

Twitter: @jobartehmadi

LinkedIn: Madi Jobarteh

Phone: +220 9995093