UDP leader Ousainou Darboe’s top lieutenant Momodou Sabally has vowed that UDP will pursue the truth regarding the December 4 poll.

UDP collapsed in dramatic fashion in a poll party leaders constantly said was finally taking UDP to State House. The party then quickly rejected the election result which saw President Barrow win by a landslide.

On Tuesday, UDP filed a petition at the Supreme Court asking the top court to scrap the election for alleged bribery and non-citizens voting.

Momodou Sabally speaking on the issue said: “We are a party of law and it’s the law that gives us the right to go to court. We want the truth to be known and we will pursue it to where it will be known. I want UDP supporters to know this is not just their issue.

“The whole country is now doubtful about this election. The party of Mamma Kandeh GDC have also refused the election and are making their own efforts to put evidence together and maybe they will join UDP and give us their evidence so that we can go to the Supreme Court.

“So a lot of people have questioned the election results, not just UDP and GDC. And we will go the Supreme Court to make sure the truth stands.”

The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission said today it has submitted additional copies of its final report to the ministry of justice for distribution stakeholders.

“The Secretariat of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) has submitted an additional ten hard copies and fifteen soft copies on flash drives of its final report to the Ministry of Justice for onward distribution to stakeholders. These include the National Assembly, the United Nations Secretary General and other local, regional and international organisations,” a statement said.

According to the TRRC, Minister of Justice Dawda Jallow and during a meeting on December 3 requested that copies of the report be sent to his office and they will do the distribution.

Police have issued a statement dismissing reports of foreign mercenaries entering into The Gambia.

Reports on Wednesday said German mercenaries who are equipped with dangerous weapons have been arrested in the country.

In a statement, police said: “We have learnt with dismay information published on social media by a Facebook profile holder named Dimansa Kujabie.

“Among other things, the author claimed that two heavily armed German nationals believed to be mercenaries were intercepted at sea by the Gambia Navy along with  6 PIU personnel escort around Denton Bridge.

“He further went on insinuating a threat to the security of the country as mentioned in his post.

“The public is urged to disregard this information as false and misleading.

“To set the records straight, the two men shown in the picture published in the Facebook post are security personnel of Trident Group America ( a private American Maritime Security Company ) specialized in protecting cruise ships along the Gulf of Guinea against attacks by pirates.

“As part of the company’s standard operation procedures and in conformity with international maritime security protocols; the company was obliged to seek entry permit, and clearance for the arms and ammunitions coming into the territorial waters of transit countries.

“Following such clearance sought, transit country’s Police are mandated to retrieve for custody all weapons on arrival and hand over same on departure. This is to ensure such weapons are not used for any unintended purposes.

“It was in observant of the above protocols that personnel of the PIU were directed to escort the weapons to be handed over to the cruise ship as they depart the territorial waters of The Gambia.

“It is important to note that, information in view of the retrieval and custody of the weapons was shared with all relevant stakeholders accordingly.

“The IGP wishes to assure the public that the GPF will not relent in executing its constitutional mandate of maintaining peace and security within the country.

“Online bloggers and reporters are encouraged to always verify facts at all times and desist from publishing unconfirmed information particularly on security matters to avoid causing undue fear among the public. The usual cooperation and understanding of the public is highly solicited.”

Police have charged Lamin Darboe with supporting terrorism and prohibition of acts of terrorism, with the arrested agitator also facing three other charges.

Police last week arrested Darboe after he released a WhatsApp audio calling for civil war in The Gambia. He called for a Rwanda-type civil war.

Police spokesman Lamin Njie told The Fatu Network Darboe is charged with incitement to violence, publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public, prohibition of acts of terrorism, supporting acts of terrorism and false publication and broadcasting.

Mr Darboe presented himself as a UDP supporter which saw UDP leader Darboe fought back by blasting the former fire officer as the worst citizen trying to destroy the image of his party.

Starting December 2021 Angola will start vaccinating children and teenagers aged between 12 and 17 years the government has announced.

The Southern African country launched its mass inoculation drive in March, initially targeting persons considered to be at high risk, including the elderly, persons with underlying health conditions and healthcare workers. This is in its bid to ramp up vaccination amid the emergence of the Omicron variant.

The government later expanded the vaccination to capture all adults (18-year-olds and above), and in October issued a two-week ultimatum to have all eligible persons get their doses.

The further expansion of the vaccination bracket to cover people from 12-years-old aims to better protect the country’s public from the virus, even as the Omicron strain, which is said to spread faster, continues to cause worry in the Southern African region.

The health ministry will also roll out the administration of booster doses to persons who completed their vaccination six months or more earlier.

“From the sixth month onwards, immunity starts to decrease and for this reason we have to reinforce the vaccination”, the Minister of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, said.

Angola has so far reported a total of 65,475 confirmed COVID-19 infections, with 1,737 deaths fatalities.

By: Dawda Baldeh

The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), World Food Programme (WFP) and other partners in Dakar, Senegal, on Wednesday 15th December 2021, held a two-day programme for the review of the National Contingency Plan 2022 to 2025.

The plan is expected to serve as the blueprint for preparing and responding to disasters in the Gambia. The event was held at a local hotel in Senegambia. The national multi-hazard contingency plan will help key actors to vision and solve disasters in an effective and timely manner. The main purpose of the plan is to ensure a coordinated and efficient humanitarian response in all situations that may affect the country.

The contingency plan identifies the main contingencies for pre and post emergencies, through a multi-sectoral approach. Sana Dahaba is the Executive Director of the National Disaster Management Agency.

“As an agency, we are committed to providing a common framework for the intervention of all partners in disaster preparedness and response. This will help reduce and mitigate those risks to be identified from this two-day technical session on the plan,” Sana Dahaba said.

Mr. Dahaba said the institution is committed to ensuring that the humanitarian response targets mitigate the adverse impact of hazards on the people. Seraphine Wakana is the United Nations, Resident Coordinator. He said the country is prone to a variety of hazards, adding that The Gambia has been experiencing recurrent disasters for several years especially with the advent of climate change.

“As you may be aware, The Gambia is prone to a variety of hazards. The UN Common Country Analysis (CCA) which is the UN systems joint analysis of development challenges the country is facing shows that the intensity and frequency of these disasters have increased progressively, leading to floods and occasional droughts and affecting the lives and livelihoods of communities and households,” she said.

She further noted that the contingency plan will incorporate inputs from the regional contingency plans while pointing out that work will be more operational and practical.
Ms. Wakana went on to state that the Disaster Management Agency has demonstrated strong leadership in the coordination of relief assistance to the victims of a windstorm that hit the country in June this year. Yasuhiro Tsumura is the World Food Programme representative. He spoke about the importance of the event.

“The contingency plan is important, but it is a process. Therefore, having the document itself is not the ultimate objective,” Yasuhiro Tsumura said.

Adding that, “it is very important for everyone to know when disasters are to occur. People need to know what, who, how and when things occur.”

Various speakers commended the organizers of the event while assuring their firm support in combating disaster and climate change in the country.

By Matty Senghore

The Drug Law Enforcement Agency of The Gambia on Wednesday publicly destroyed various drugs among them cocaine.

DLEAG destroyed 4tons 607kg 700g of cannabis, 238kg 264g of cannabis resin, 17g of heroine and 52kg 143g 400mg of cocaine.

The event was held at the Old Cape Road in Bakau presided over by the minister of interior Yankuba Sonko.

More follows…

By: Christian Conteh

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is working on formulating a policy that will insist that member states stick to presidential term limits as prescribed in their various constitutions. And where there are no constitutional provisions that encourage the country to introduce it through constitutional reforms. This is according to the head of the ECOWAS election observer mission to The Gambia.

Ernest Bai Koroma, the former president of Sierra Leone was speaking during a presentation of the ECOWAS mission’s preliminary findings in the just concluded Gambian Presidential Election

“We have to ensure that it becomes a policy of ECOWAS to insist on a term limit. I think term limits must be supported and issues of good governance are addressed at all times along the way. We should have a look at every president’s way of governance because these are the early warning signs that are not adhered to,” Koroma told journalists at a post-election press conference.

Interestingly Former President Koroma handed over the country’s mantle of leadership to the main opposition after Julius Maada Bio won the elections. The handing over came at a time when party faithful of the then governing All Peoples Congress Party trumpeted a third term bid for Koroma.

The former Sierra Leonean leader further disclosed that the issue of term limit has been discussed in ECOWAS meetings, even recently at the reviewing of its protocol on good governance and democracy.

“The position as at now is that where you have a term limit the countries must ensure that they adhere strictly to the provisions of the term limit and where you don’t have a term limit as it is the case with The Gambia, it is left with Gambians to review their constitution to consider implementing term limit,” Koroma said.

Koroma added that as a body, ECOWAS holds the view that the term limit gives the voting population a choice.

“To be fair, in the end if a president is lucky to serve two terms, I don’t see anything more you can offer beyond your two terms. I think it is time to bow out”.

“However, I think we have implications here; there are times when people want to stay beyond their term limits because of the lack of guarantees of life after the presidency but I believe we have had a lot of past presidents that engage in doing so many other things after office,” he said.

By Amara Thoronka

Sierra Leone high court judge, Justice Adrian Fisher yesterday placed opposition strongman Dr. Samura Matthew Wilson Kamara on a Two Billion Leones (about 178,000 United States Dollars) bail on his first appearance in court to answer to alleged corruption offences.

Dr. Samura Kamara was the 2018 presidential candidate of the then ruling and now main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) party and was also, at different periods of the APC regime, former Minister of Foreign Affairs (2013-2017); Minister of Finance (2009-2013); Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone (2007-2009).

It could be recalled that on 23 November 2021 the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) released a statement stating that Dr. Kamara and others are to be prosecuted for corruption offences. Part of the release reads:
“Dr Samura Kamara is charged with one count of deceiving a principal (the state) and on one count of misappropriation of public funds amounting to Two Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand United States Dollars (2,560,000) meant for the reconstruction for the Sierra Leone Chancery Building in New York.”

According to the particulars of offence, Dr. Kamara in his then capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation allegedly deceived the Government of Sierra Leone by presenting a cabinet paper document that he knew contained a misleading statement. The statement in question reads: “The Companies undertaking the renovation or constructions are reliable and were subjected to a rigorous vetting process.”

Following the bail applications made on behalf of the accused persons, Hon. Justice Fisher admitted the accused persons to bail in the sum of Two Billion Leones and two sureties each which must be property owners in the Western Area with one of such properties in each case valued at least One Billion Leones.

The bail condition further required that each property must be registered in the name of the surety in the office of the Administrator and Registrar General and must be free from all encumbrances. Each surety must surrender the originals of all title deeds to the office of the Master and Registrar and must produce a valuation certificate confirming the valuation of the properties to be used, which must be dated within the past three months.

Justice Fisher ordered each accused person to surrender all travelling documents to the office of the Master and Registrar, forthwith as well as not to conduct any interviews with the press or comment publicly on proceedings until the end of the trial.

He used the occasion to admonish the press and members of the public to only report accurately what obtains in court in terms of the evidence given in the proceedings in general and nothing else.

“Any reporting calculated to interfere with the course of this trial would be treated as contempt of this court for which there would be penalties,” Justice Fisher warned.

Other accused persons include Saidu Nallo (1st accused), Adikali Foday Suma (2nd accused) Foday Vahfomba Bawoh (3rd accused), Dr. Kandeh Foday Basil Kamara (5th accused) and Jules Sanders Davies (6th accused). They were also put individually on a Two Billion Leones bail. Three of the accused persons fulfilled their bail conditions with the exception of 3rd accused, Foday Vahfomba Bawoh, who has been sent to the Male Correctional Centre.

1st accused (Nallo) faces 30 Counts, 2nd accused (Suma) 4 Counts, 3rd accused (Bawoh) 20 Counts, 4th accused (Samura Kamara) 2 counts, 5th accused (Dr. Kandeh F.B. Kamara) 16 Counts, and 4 Counts for 6th accused (Davies). They all denied the allegations.
Dr. Kandeh Foday Basil Kamara (5th accused) and Jules Sanders Davies (6th accused) were not in court because they are currently out of the country.
The indictments range from misappropriation of public funds, conspiracy to commit a corruption offence, abuse of office and other corruption-related offences contrary to the Anti-Corruption Act No. 12 of 2008 as amended by the Anti-Corruption Amendment Act, No. 9 of 2019).

The matter was adjourned to 5th of January 2022.

UDP senior administrative secretary has said in his witness statement President Adama Barrow promised alkalolu that they will be appointed and paid, arguing that this was an inducement of the local government leaders.

UDP filed a petition at the Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging the December 4 presidential election result. They want the top court to cancel the election.

In his witness statement filed along with the original statement, Alhagie S Darboe alleged he knows for a fact President Barrow in his campaign made promises to the alkalolu that they will be appointed and paid D3,000 per month.

“…And this I know is an inducement to them for the purpose of election,” he alleged.

Darboe said elsewhere in his statement that he knows for a fact that in the course of the campaign, the NPP mobilised governors, chiefs and alkalolu who participated in the election campaign on the side of the party.

By: Christian Conteh

To mark the start of the festive season here in The Gambia, Coco Ocean Resort and Spa on Sunday 12^th December 2021 held a symbolic lighting of a Christmas Tree at the hotel’s facility at Bamboo Drive, Kombo Coastal Road, Serrekunda, Gambia.

The event brought together young school-going children, adults and regular patrons of the facility. The kids treated guests to Christmas carols and were offered gifts by Santa Clause.

Abdoulie Barrow is Food and Event Manager of Coco Ocean Resort and Spa, he said the event is a way of welcoming the festive season and displaying what the facility has to offer its numerous customers.

“The event is first of its kind, looking back at the COVID-19 Pandemic and the effect it has had on the hospitality industry we are happy to have been able to sustain our business and continue to give our customers the standard they seek.

The ‘Coco Ocean Tree Lighting’ is in preparation for the Christmas holiday. The turnout was good, the performance by the kids was amazing,” Barrow said.

When asked about the continuity of such an event he noted that he hopes to see it becoming an annual event.

“We are unique, Coco Ocean is one in the world and we are working in the largest industry in the world. The sky is the limit for us, with our expertise at Coco Ocean there are lots of surprises for our customers in the new year,” Barrow promised.

He went on to invite everyone including Gambians and non-Gambians to come to Coco Ocean and spend the Christmas holidays at their facility.

Charles is a musician from Belgium, he says Coco Ocean is his favourite hotel and he will be performing with his Belgian friends and other prominent artists living at the hotel on New Year’s Eve.

He promised to play his part in the improvement of the music industry in The Gambia. This includes pushing for legislation that gives musicians copyright and let them earn from their work.

Music and snacks formed an integral part of the social evening and tree lighting event.

GACH Global chief executive officer Abubakary Jawara has given D265,000 to two accidents victims to support them in their treatment.

Abubacarr Sowe of Brikama and Papa Momodou Njie of Tallinding were given D250,000 and D15,000 respectively.

Sowe who is 18, was involved in an accident that left him with fractured legs while Pa Njie also has leg fractures. Both accidents took place during the presidential election period.

The support is the latest generosity from top businessman Jawara and his GACH Global company.

By Reuters

Preliminary evidence indicates that COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against infection and transmission linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant, which also carries a higher risk of reinfection, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

The WHO, in its weekly epidemiological update, said that more data was needed to better understand the extent to which Omicron may evade immunity derived from either vaccines or previous infection.

“As a result of this, the overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high,” it said, echoing comments made by WHO officials at an online briefing on Tuesday.

For the first time since the dominant Delta variant was classified as a variant of concern in April, the percentage of Delta sequences registered on the global science database, GISAID has declined this week compared with other variants of concern, it said.

This needs to be interpreted with caution as countries may perform targeted sequencing for Omicron and therefore upload fewer sequences on all other variants, including Delta, it said.

The Delta variant is still dominant, however, accounting for 99.2 percent of the almost 880,000 sequences uploaded to GISAID with specimens collected in the last 60 days.

But the trend is declining in the proportion of Alpha, Beta and Gamma, and with the emergence of the Omicron variant. Out of the total, some 3,755 – or 0.4 percent – were Omicron and the other three variants of concern together numbered 401, less than 0.1 percent each.

The Turkish energy company operating in The Gambia, Karpowership, yesterday presented cash totalling D569,000 to a local health facility and an educational foundation.
The presentation was done at a ceremony at Faraba Kairaba Health Centre in Kombo East. Karpowership Country Director Yankuba Mamburay handed over D312,000 to workers at the health centre and presented D257,000 to the head of the Salimatou Foundation for Education.

Mr Mamburay said when the community of Faraba Kairaba wrote seeking support from Karpowership, he forwarded the letter to the head office in Istanbul and approval was given to provide the money to operationalise the village health centre which was constructed five years ago. He said the approval was also given to support the children’s education programme of SAFE.

Mr Mamburay said since it started operations in The Gambia in May 2018, Karpowership has gone beyond its mandate of supplying electricity, and through the fulfilment of its corporate social responsibility, spent millions of dalasis in assisting government, institutions, communities and individuals in areas including education, health, fisheries and the environment.

Faraba Kairaba health centre manager, Famara Fatty, described Karpowership as “unique” among Gambian based companies in giving back to the community. He promised that funds will be put to the intended purpose.

Regional Health Director Jean D’Arc Jarju-Kujabi thanked Karpowership for empowering the villagers to take charge of their health. She called on them to do their part in sustaining the centre and not rely entirely on outside help.

She urged the management of the centre to construct a waiting shed whilst lamenting that pregnant women in the community have to trek to Pirang or travel to Brikama for antenatal services.

On her part, Salimatou Fatty of SAFE, said since she started her foundation in 2015, this was the first corporate donation she received and thanked Karpowership for supporting the education of Gambian children. The alkalo (village head) of Faraba Kairaba, Kemo Colley, thanked Karpowership and its country manager for the assistance.

The ceremony, chaired by Sheriff Bojang, a Karpowership local partner, was interspersed with drumming and dancing by local troupes.

By Amara Thoronka

December 10 every year is International Human Rights Day. It marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 10th December 1948.

What are human rights?

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. At the international level, the UDHR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and others stipulate and guarantee human rights to be exercised by everyone across the world. Both the ICCPR and ICESCR were adopted by UNGA in 1976.

Some major internationally recognized human rights include; the right to work in just and favourable conditions; right to social protection; right to an adequate standard of living and the highest attainable standards of physical and mental well-being; right to education and the enjoyment of benefits of cultural freedom and scientific progress; freedom of movement; right to a fair trial and presumption of innocence; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom of opinion and expression; peaceful assembly; freedom of association; participation in public affairs and elections; protection of minority rights; right against arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment, slavery and forced labour; right against arbitrary arrest or detention and arbitrary interference with privacy; right against discrimination, racial or religious hate.

However, while the aforementioned are general, there are rights aiming at protecting and/or targeting a specific set of people like women, children, the aged, workers, refugees and so on. There are also global, regional, subregional and national laws and bodies established to recognize, defend and protect human rights at various levels.

The trilogy of human rights

Every right has three components: the right, the limitation, and the responsibility. The right component is the exercise or enjoyment of the given right without interference. The limitation component is the reasonable restriction of the same right in the interest of public order, public safety, public health, public morality and the protection of other people’s reputation. The last component, responsibility, is the willingness of the person to own up for anything arising from the exercise of his/her right.

Even at the international level, there are no absolute rights. They are reasonably limited to enhancing sanity, peace and development in every given society. Without laws to somehow restrain the conduct of people and make them take responsibility for their deeds and words, society according to the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” There will be impunity for gross violation of rights or freedoms.

The missing link in right-based advocacy

Human rights campaigners, defenders or advocates are almost always focused on informing people about their rights, freedoms and privileges which they are at liberty to freely and satisfactorily enjoy without interference, thereby making many feel that their rights are not limited and cannot take responsibility for unlawful issues or occurrences that may emanate from exercising their rights.

This is where right-based advocates are getting it wrong. In poor and unenlightened communities or societies where civics is lacking in the minds of the greater majority, many have imbibed a self-centred right mentality where the rights of others and the orderliness or sanity of society are given little or no consideration.
You will see someone, who has violated the right of another, vehemently asserting that it was his/her right to do or say what he did or said.

The Way Forward

Over the years, so much has been poured into human rights advocacy. If human rights campaigners and defenders are to be successful, their advocacies should be holistic.
As you campaign for children’s right to education, equally so inform them about their responsibility to attend classes, take notes, do their assignments, focus on their studies, prioritize learning over everything and respect school authorities.
As you campaign for men and society to respect the rights of women, equally so inform women about the limitations of their rights and the obligations they owe to their husbands, families and society in general.

As you advocate for employees’ rights, equally so enlighten them on their obligations to their employers, workplaces, and society. As you campaign for governments to uncompromisingly protect and defend the rights of citizens, equally so inform citizens on why and how their rights are reasonably restricted. Also, encourage them to honour their obligations to their nations and embody the spirit of patriotism.

The aforesaid are just highlights of the entirety of human rights considerations. Right-based campaigns should give equal prominence to the said components so that people will have a holistic picture of human rights and not just exercise their rights unguided.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad Dr. Mamadou Tangara on Tuesday morning received in his office the out-going UNFPA Representative to The Gambia, Mr. Kunle Adeniyi to bid him farewell at the end of his tour of duty in the country.

Foreign Minister Tangara expressed his appreciation of the efforts exerted by Mr. Kunle in the implementation of projects during his time in the country whilst wishing success in his tour of duty in Sri Lanka. Dr. Tangara posited that legacy should always be guarded by any person occupying position of responsibility.

For his part, the out-going UNFPA Representative, Mr. Kunle Adeniyi, commended the Government through the Foreign Ministry for the role played in fighting and reducing maternal mortality and child marriage. Mr. Kunle said throughout his stint, The Gambia stands strong in ensuring effective implementation of UNFPA projects.

The farewell ceremony was attended by the Director Administration and Finance, Ms. Binta Singhateh – Njie and Director of Asia and Oceanic Affairs Division, Ms. Fatou Njie – Hydara.

The ministry of trade has issued a statement announcing a reduction in the price of flour in the country.

The price of flour shot up recently pushing families into pain.

But the ministry trade in a statement on Tuesday said: “Following the recent increase in the price of locally produced flour, Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment MOTIE is hereby informing the general public that: agreement has been reached with Nessim Trading Company Limited for the price of Ferry brand to be restored to D1, 425.00 per bag, Bridge brand at D1,385.00 and Golden Brown maintained at D1, 350 with immediate effect; locally produced flour should not be exported to neighboring countries in line with the earlier press release from this Ministry; bakeries are encouraged to buy flour from the factory to save costs and benefit from other applicable discounts.

“Given that flour milling companies have agreed to restore their original prices as stated above, This Ministry is calling on all bakeries to continue their production of bread and ensure that the price of bread is maintained at D7 per loaf.

“The public is hereby reassured that MOTIE/GCCPC is fully committed to ensuring the availability and affordability of essential commodities including flour and will work diligently to find a permanent solution as we grapple with global price increments brought about by the effects of Covid 19 on global supply chains.”

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe has said supporters of the party are putting the party in bad light, asking supporters to not adopt a stand that will further alienate the party from some section of the population.

UDP supporters including prominent member Jainaba Jah have led calls for the boycott of all businesses belonging to businessman Muhammed Jah. Jah’s only crime is supporting President Adama Barrow.

But Darboe said: “I see the campaign for a boycott of the Jah businesses is intensifying. I agree entirely with Amadou that we should be liberal minded, accept and respect choices made by individuals and groups. This campaign strongly validates the label of intolerance attached to us.

“Although I asked the media team to issue a statement confirming that Ambassador Bah’s appeal was her personal view and not the official position of the party, it does appear that the party is supporting the campaign as our platform is being used to promote the boycott.

“As a responsible and accommodating party we should engage Jah to win him over. We are putting our party in bad light. Let us accept that not everyone will support us but that does not mean we should adopt a stand that will further alienate us from some section of the population.”

The United Democratic Party has filed a petition at the Supreme Court of The Gambia asking the top court to scrap the December 4 poll due to corrupt practices.

UDP filed the petition Tuesday afternoon through the party’s lawyer Borry Touray.

In their petition seen by The Fatu Network, UDP alleged President Adama Barrow and members of his National People’s Party bribed voters by giving them money, cooking utensils and milling machines.

Elsewhere, the party alleged that non-citizens were inserted in the register of voters in the length and breadth of the country.

The party wants the Supreme Court to declare the poll invalid.

A date will now be appointed for hearing.