Gambians queued in long lines and showed former President Yahya Jammeh where real power resides, UDP leader Ousainou Darboe has said.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of UDP’s congress over the weekend, Darboe argued: “Our country is at a crossroads. After promises that was delivered by the courage, sacrifice and determined patience of the Gambian people, men and women of conscience pulled together and put aside superficial differences and confronted an entrenched tyranny with nothing more than a firm belief in the righteousness of their cause and the vote that represents their voice and the sovereign power that resides in that vote.
“They queued in long lines, not giving in to either fear or inducement and showed a 22-year dictator where real power resides and the best way to exercise it. With faith and determination, they defeated a tyrant and restored the democracy to we the people who are the principal political custodians.
“This new-found democracy was neither given by the defeated tyrant nor his successor. It was earned by those sovereign Gambian citizens who dedicated themselves to the duty of fighting for their own freedom.
“You the Gambian people gave yourself the democracy you’re enjoying. It was not gifted to you by anyone. The was precisely the reason the world stood by us to ensure that the expressed will of the Gambians who voted for change was upheld.”
