Police announced on Wednesday evening they have provided each candidate a platoon of officers whose duty would be VIP protection and public order management.

In a statement, police said: “As part of our proactive policing strategies, The Gambia Police Force (GPF) has on Tuesday provided political parties on the campaign trail with detailed security to help mitigate and manage any potential security concern that may emerge.

“To this effect, each presidential candidate has been provided with a platoon of police personnel from the PIU during their campaign throughout the country. They will execute duties in VIP Protection and Public Order Management.

“This is in line with the context of a well-defined elections security operational plan, which details activities before, during and post elections.

“Activities before the elections, included several trainings and orientations provided for personnel in a bid to develop their skills in elections security, crisis management, critical incidents response and public order management, among others.”

One of the presidential candidates for the December 4^th, 2021, Presidential Election has today Wednesday 10^th November 2021 Launched his ‘Blueprint for A National Turnaround’ Manifesto. Essa Mbaye Faal Launched the Manifesto at his Bijilo Residence.

Speaking to pressmen Essa noted that the ‘Blueprint for A National Turnaround’is a comprehensive breakdown of action points his presidency will work on when elected in December 2021.

He stated that for the positive transformation of The Gambia there is a need for competent heads, able hands, appropriate tools, and an abundance of result-oriented Gambians supported by leadership with ideas to turn around the country for prosperity.

He further noted that the Gambia is not in need of yet another long and policy document as many of such exist, what the Gambia needs he says is an action plan, which would serve as a blueprint for development.

His first 100 days as President Essa promised to lay the foundation of a progressive state. He said he would then go on to double the country’s GDP in 10 years and tackle the scourge of youth unemployment in 5 years.

He also promised to address the issue of corruption, build the health care system, and ensure Gambian troops are capacitated to take over the security of the Gambian people when elected president.

The Independent Alhaji Mamadi Kurang has endorsed Halifa Sallah for president days after his nomination got rejected.

Reports emerged online on Wednesday that Mr Kurang is backing UDP for the election.

But in a new twist, Mr Kurang said he is backing PDOIS.

United Democratic Party is brimming with confidence that next month’s election is its to take with leaders of the party all the time insisting that change is coming.

The party chose Darboe as its standard-bearer and the veteran politician was cleared by the IEC over the weekend offering him the chance to finally show what he is made of.

Presidential campaign officially started on Tuesday November 9 but UDP spent the day different from its rivals.

The party and leader Darboe were busy making courtesy visits to respectable homes in Brikama, Sanghajor and Farato.

APRC leader Fabakary Tombong Jatta has called on supporters of the APRC to vote for President Adama Barrow come December 4.

“[I call on] all APRC supporters wherever you may be [to] vote for President Adama Barrow on the 4 of December,” the longtime politician told citizens at the president’s rally in Fass Omar Saho on Tuesday.

According to FTJ, there is every indication President Barrow will win the election but warned against complacency.

He said: “There is hope President Barrow will win. But sometimes what happens, people sit and say ‘the president will win’ and on Election Day there don’t go out to vote.

“If you don’t vote and the next person doesn’t vote and the next person also doesn’t vote, who will vote then? If we want a better future, let’s all go out and vote for President Adama Barrow.”

Momodou Sabally of the United Democratic Party has declared that UDP is the winning camp as the battle for State House gathers extraordinary pace.

The former secretary general has proven to be one of UDP’s most trusted officials in getting the party to State House.

He wrote on Wednesday: “It’s a battle no less than that of tanks and canons but a battle more profound: a battle of ideas and conviction…

“Across rivers and mountains, armed with the truth, we shall destroy their ramparts and conquer their forces. We are the #winning team.”

Mr Sabally is UDP leader Ousainou Darboe’s right hand man and he was the one who carried the veteran politician’s papers during his nomination last week.

Campaign for the election next month started on Tuesday with the six contenders making their moves on the voters.

Wednesday is Day 2 of campaign and it will feature activities from five candidates, with GDC’s Mamma Kandeh having to wait until November 13.

President Adama Barrow and his National People’s Party are still in the North Bank and they will hold rallies in Kerewan, Kerr Pateh Koreh and Farafenni.

PDOIS will be having a caravan and rallies in Bundung, Dippa Kunda, Bakoteh and London Corner while UDP will spend the day having caravans in Wellingara, Sinchu Alagie, Labakoreh, Busumbala, Banjulinding, Lamin and Mandinari.

Elsewhere, Abdoulie Jammeh and his NUP will interact with voters in Babylon, Makumbaya and Mandinary.

The independent Essa Faal will be in Illiassa, Chamen, Farafenni, Jenoi and Pakalinding.

Marie Sock has issued a statement regarding her decision to back United Democratic Party in the December presidential election.

Mrs Sock’s statement reads: “I want to thank all of you for standing with me through this journey, supporting and endorsing my candidacy. We have come a long way together, and this is just the beginning.

“A lot has happened to us in the past week, from filling our presidential nomination, disqualification by IEC, and now to make a decision of where to go next to continue the Alliance of Social Democrat’s vision.

“This decision is not based on political interest, but for our national interest. ASD stands for good will ambassadors, good will politicians, we are on a journey to change the dynamics of Gambian politics, inshallah.

“We all must be united in one common goal.  We must continue to engage all political leaders and parties, civil societies, government agencies, private sectors and all Gambian citizens to reunite and work together for the betterment of our motherland.

“We started this journey because we wanted to change the political system of this nation, and i have come to a decision that the United Democratic Party is one of the party that aligns with our road map of development.

“Today the 10th of November 2021, our planning committee has concluded on behalf of Alliance of Social Democrats to join alliance with UDP to further promote our joint organization principles and policies.

“His Excellency Honourable Ousainou Darboe and I has reached and concluded in agreement to join forces together and uplift and rebrand the great party to climb the greater heights.

“I encourage all the Marie Sock ambassadors, ASD members and all Gambians all over the world to stand with me in this new direction. We are going to use this opportunity to change the phase of politics in the Gambia. Join us to make the difference. Thank you.”

MC Cham Jnr has insisted GDC’s political power cannot be matched by any party and said the party is on its way to State House.

Addressing GDC supporters in an audio which he shared with The Fatu Network, Cham Jnr said: “Any who wishes to endorse GDC will find that our door is open. But we will not give anyone money for you to endorse GDC.

“The money we would give you it’s better we buy t-shirts and give it to our supporters for campaign. The partnership we have right now with APRC, no one has it.

“Our power cannot be rivalled by that of any party. So I want GDC supporters to believe in themselves and know we are going to State House.”

By Reuters

Guinea will begin vaccinating children aged 12-17 against COVID-19 with a consignment of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines on Wednesday, the health ministry said.

Most African countries have been reliant on the COVAX vaccine sharing initiative for doses, and have inoculated only a small fraction of their populations.

Guinea received a quantity of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in late October and early November, the National Agency for Health Security said in a statement. It did not say how many doses were received or from where.

The country previously received 194,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the global COVAX initiative and supplemented that with vaccines purchased and donated from China.

Guinea has administered at least 2,276,474 doses of COVID-19 vaccine so far, enough to have fully vaccinated about 9% of its population, according to government data compiled by Reuters.

The death toll in Guinea from the pandemic stands at 387, and there have been 30,709 cases, according to government figures.

Momodou Bah 1 has endorsed President Adama Barrow for the December presidential election.

The former aspirant presidential candidate met President Barrow in Kerewan where he officially endorsed him.

More follows…

Marie Sock has finally endorsed UDP for next month’s presidential election.

Reports on Tuesday said Mrs Sock had flipped to UDP but the politician told The Fatu Network talks were still ongoing.

A decision has now been reached for her to back UDP for the upcoming poll.

More follows…

President Adama Barrow has asked citizens in Upper Nuimi to be mindful of one of the boxes of next month’s presidential election.

The president addressed citizens in Fass Omar Saho on Tuesday as the curtain got raised on his campaign.

The president said: “This is a very important election that one has to be very diligent. I know you people know me. And this is why I tell you don’t call me Barrow Manasi but Barrow Nata Dokuwolela.

“There will be many boxes in this election but you should be careful of one box: that’s the box where all insult emanate. Tribalism also comes from that box. It’s also the box where they want to be president by any means necessary.

“So everyone should be mindful of that box. Our box too is there but our box is the peace box, a box that knows only work.”

By: Christian Conteh

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported that the Global Progress Against Measles is threatened because of the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

The institutions say the world has reported the largest increase in unvaccinated children in 20 years leaving critical gaps in disease surveillance, thus increasing the risk of measles outbreaks and ultimately putting lives at risk.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to immunization services and changes in health-seeking behaviours in many parts of the world. While the measures used to mitigate COVID-19 – masking, handwashing, distancing – also reduce the spread of the measles virus, countries and global health partners must prioritize finding and vaccinating children against measles to reduce the risk of explosive outbreaks and preventable deaths from this disease.

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious human viruses but is almost entirely preventable through vaccination.  In the last 20 years, the measles vaccine is estimated to have averted more than 30 million deaths globally. Estimated deaths from measles dropped from around 1,070,000 in 2000 to 60,700 in 2020.  The estimated number of measles cases in 2020 was 7.5 million globally.  Measles transmission within communities is not only a clear indicator of poor measles vaccination coverage, but also a known marker, or ‘tracer,’ that vital health services are not reaching populations most at risk.

According to the report, “While reported measles cases have fallen compared to previous years, progress toward measles elimination continues to decline and the risk of outbreaks is mounting. During 2020, more than 22 million infants missed their first dose of measles vaccine – 3 million more than in 2019, marking the largest increase in two decades and creating dangerous conditions for outbreaks to occur.  Compared with the previous year, reported measles cases decreased by more than 80 percent in 2020.”

However, it reports that measles surveillance deteriorated with the lowest number of specimens sent for laboratory testing in over a decade. Weak measles monitoring, testing and reporting for measles jeopardize countries’ ability to prevent outbreaks of this highly infectious disease. Major measles outbreaks were reported in 26 countries and accounted for 84 percent of all reported cases in 2020.

Kevin Cain is MD and CDC’s Global Immunization Director, he said, “Large numbers of unvaccinated children, outbreaks of measles, and disease detection and diagnostics diverted to support COVID-19 responses are factors that increase the likelihood of measles-related deaths and serious complications in children.”

Adding that, “We must act now to strengthen disease surveillance systems and close immunity gaps, before travel and trade return to pre-pandemic levels, to prevent deadly measles outbreaks and mitigate the risk of other vaccine-preventable diseases.”

“While reported measles cases dropped in 2020, evidence suggests we are likely seeing the calm before the storm as the risk of outbreaks continues to grow around the world. It’s critical that countries vaccinate as quickly as possible against COVID-19, but this requires new resources so that it does not come at the cost of essential immunization programs.

Routine immunization must be protected and strengthened; otherwise, we risk trading one deadly disease for another,” said Dr Kate O’Brien, Director of WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.

Marie Sock has not yet join United Democratic Party, according to people familiar with the issue.

Mrs Sock joining UDP emerged online on Tuesday prompting some UDP supporters congratulating her.

The Fatu Network has however gathered through people who are familiar with the issue that she has not joined any party yet as talks are still ongoing.

A police officer has died after getting knocked down by a reckless driver, police have confirmed.

Police spokesman Lamin Njie told The Fatu Network: “We can confirm the accident which occurred around Denton Bridge in which Police Sgt 2745 Omar manneh,  posted at Denton bridge was been knocked down by a reckless-driver while on active duty.

“He was rushed to EFSTH Banjul where he was pronounced dead. The driver is currently under custody helping police accident investigations.”

Mai Fatty visited the Independent Electoral Commission on Tuesday amid what he called a legal battle over the rejection of his nomination.

Mr Fatty visited the IEC on Saturday night after the IEC rejected his nomination for want of signatures. He accused the IEC of playing a ping-pong game on him after he could not meet any of the officials at the IEC on that night.

He was at the IEC again on Tuesday amid Election House’s latest move to dismiss the appeals of all six candidates who protested their rejection.

The Fatu Network understands some of the candidates are now planning to go to the Supreme Court.

The Independent Electoral Commission has rejected the appeals of six candidates who exercised their right of appeal following the rejection of their nomination over the weekend.

They are Gambia Moral Congress’s Mai Fatty, CA’s Dr Ismaila Ceesay, GAP’s Alieu Sowe, ANRD’s Lamin Bojang, Papa Faal and Alhaji Mamadi Kurang.

IEC spokesman Pa Makan Khan told The Fatu Network their appeals were dismissed for lack of merit.

The Fatu Network understands some of the leaders have threatened to head to the Supreme Court.