By Yusupha Bojang
It’s a bogus claim that politicians cannot give out or make attestations for eligible voters card applicants. Even if such a law is written in the constitution, it’s a stupid law and cannot and should not be enforced.
I don’t know why whenever Halifa speaks in Gambian politics, a shot is fired across the bowel! It’s not every law on the law books are applicable in a democracy. Every law in a democracy must pass the democratic test to be enforceable.
I know judges and magistrates must base their judgments on the law but politicians and political commentators are not magistrates and judges. Gambian politicians especially the UDP politicians must challenge Halifa misusing the constitution as a political football whenever it suits him in trying to give himself political influence in our democracy not given to him by the Gambian people. Halifa is just an MP representing his Serre Kunda constituents in parliament and nothing more.
He’s not a judge, a magistrate or a government minister. He has no discernible qualities on democratic politics and economics. He misuses the constitution to snooker democratic politics in The Gambia into his political slots time and time again.
Halifa is always the first to say on any political governance issues in The Gambia what’ll happen and how according to the constitution apparently. Why should anyone listen to Halifa about what’ll happen in The Gambia and how particularly when he gets the calls wrong? The Gambia is a democracy and not a courtroom!
Let the politics and its outcome generate the laws in our democracy and how the country is governed.
Politics and law are two different domains but intimately related. Laws are byproducts of politics. It’s the politics that creates the laws in a democracy and the laws give frame and structure to the politics.
When a law is in contravention of democratic principles and practices, such a law is null and void and a better law that conforms with democratic values and standards are enacted.
In The Gambia, Halifa and the Sierra Leonean lawyers when it suits them misuse the law to create their own democratic political narrative in the country. It doesn’t work like that-) That’s why we have the problems on how to implement the coalition agreement: the president firing an MP from parliament but turned down by the Supreme Court: taking Sheriffo Sonko to court: taking a brand new draft constitution to parliament for promulgation and the nonsense claim that the Banjul mayoress cannot issue attestations to eligible voters card applicants.
How can it make sense in a democracy that the Mayor, an elected representative of the people cannot issue attestation to whoever she wanted to attest for for whatever reasons?
But every time Halifa speaks in Gambian politics, the prophet has spoken and it’s the gospel. We cannot allow Halifa keep destroying democratic politics in The Gambia quoting bogus anti democratic laws from the constitution: laws that are completely ridiculously undemocratic. The constitution says this and the constitution says that: even when it’s obviously stupid and anti democratic.
And the madness that whatever is not written in the constitution cannot be thought of in the Gambian democracy- we’re human beings: we make mistakes and we are allowed to change our minds
Can we inject some common sense into our democracy and how The Gambia is governed: Common sense democratic political governance of The Gambia in line with democratic values and conventions!
Politicians cannot misuse constitutional laws to stifle democratic politics in The Gambia. Let’s allow our democracy to flourish and blossom and not be bugged down by communist standards political governance practices! The Gambia is a democracy!
The writer, Yusupha Bojang, is a social worker.
