FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Banjul- 28 December 2017- members of the steering committee of a new political party, Liberal Alliance met in Banjul on Wednesday 27th December, to discuss and approve the party’s constitution and plan of action for 2018-2019. This was only the first step to ensuring that popular participation, and the consolidation of democracy in The Gambia is prioritized by putting people first.
“We have worked tirelessly to get to this point of birthing the Liberal Alliance (LA), which is a party that promotes national unity. LA’s policies are determined by the entire membership of the party; the leadership is accountable to the members in line with procedures articulated by this Constitution that was adopted today,” said Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh the interim chairperson of LA.
The consultative process is a culmination of months of deliberations across continents, and regions over the makeup and character of the party. These consultations included debates about the vision and political aspirations of the party as well as membership criteria, funding strategy, and electoral reforms.
The party aims to infuse politics of policy, and not personality in The Gambia, which has experienced a 22 year rule of despotism and tyranny, only broken almost a year ago, when the citizens voted for change. However, a year on, the promised reforms have been slow, and patience has worn thin.
“We can no longer cheer from the side-lines, as Gambia is too important for observation alone, so we have now chosen to participate in a more deliberate, meaningful and relevant way,” said Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh.
Members of the steering committee are a diverse group of likeminded Gambians, both at home and abroad, who aim to infuse qualitative representation, structure, process and selfless dedication in The Gambia’s body politic.
The LA membership is a non-sectarian, non-sexist, non-tribal and non-ethnic liberal grouping that have always fought for truth, justice, peace and reconciliation for The Gambia.
LA aims to contribute to good governance, transparency, accountability, the culture of pluralism where diverse views are encouraged in the practice of democracy by dialogue, in the quest to win support through these principles and battle of ideas that such a culture espouses.
It is envisaged that the party will complete its registration processes in mid-2018, whilst at the same time undertake wide public consultations both in and outside of the country, through periodic membership drives to galvanize support and rally the base.
A detailed roadmap on LA’s next steps was endorsed by the steering committee, which details the priority focus areas for the year. Some of these include: membership drives and party registration; publication of discussions documents and position papers; finalization of party manifesto; outreach and visibility strategy; registration; party launching and National Congress.
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About Liberal Alliance:
The aims and objectives of the LA are:
To promote national unity by creating a non-ethnic, non-sexist, non-ageist state that promotes and embraces our cultural diversity, high level of religious tolerance, and overwhelming generosity of a Gambian spirt.
To further advance the democratic gains of the citizenry and to promote a culture of transparency, accountability and the people’s right to probity.
To combat corruption in all its forms, and endeavour to arrest the practice of graft in both the private and public sector, by making corruption unattractive and highly prohibitive.
To persevere in the fight for social justice and end impunity, by bringing to justice perpetrators of human rights abuses deployed under a previous system of tyranny;
To advance the cause of women and youth empowerment;
To create opportunity for greater economic advancement for all, especially the poor, vulnerable, hard to reach, and the differently abled;
To support and advance the ideals of the 1977 Banjul Declaration- and preserve with rigor the flora and fauna of the Gambia in the face of climate change;
To prioritize food security, education, health and access to public services, and ensure that every Gambian child is given the right start at the right time in life, so that they grow to reach their full potential and safe guard the future of The Gambia;
To promote the principles of good open government and a culture of strong democratic practice where people are put first and citizen centred developmental policies anchor our vision and mission of a prosperous and viable state, at peace with itself and the world.
For more information please contact:
Frederic Tendeng, +220 267778
