By Dawda Baldeh
Alhagie Mamadi Kurang, leader of the opposition movement Youth for Change, has criticised the PDOIS leadership style, accusing the party of lacking internal democracy.
A seasoned teacher and accountant who turned politician, Kurang made these remarks on the show ‘Sunu Reew’ on Eye Africa TV.
He claimed that the party is run by one-man decisions, asserting that others are not allowed to make decisions.
“If you ask me, I will tell you PDOIS is about Halifa. There is no internal democracy in PDOIS because Halifa makes all the decisions,” he said.
Accordingly, Mr. Kurang noted from 2021 to last December that there was no activity because Halifa was in complete hibernation.
“I attended a few press conferences and stopped attending because I didn’t know the arguments. You only sit there for two hours without having a say,” he added.
He acknowledged PDOIS’s contribution to strengthening democracy in the country but slammed the party for not allowing others to make decisions or scrutinise the leadership.
On a possible move for Sallah to contest the 2026 presidential election, Mr. acknowledged that Halifa has every constitutional right to contest, but noted that he should hand over the baton.
Narrating an allegation of internal conflict, Halifa asked if Kurang had ever approached him since joining PDOIS to seek clarity on issues within the party.
“Did you ever come to me to ask about issues within PDOIS?” he asked.
In response, Kurang confirmed he only spoke to Sallah at the party bureau and twice on the phone.
Honourable Sallah also talked about the PDOIS constitution, which he said is accessible to everyone within the party.
Sallah narrated that he was not aware of anyone fearing to speak about the party.
Noting that such allegations are new to him. He added: “Everyone in PDOIS is equal.”
Responding to questions on allegations that only Halifa and Sedia speak on behalf of the party, Sallah responded, “the central committee has no power to choose a presidential candidate, National Assembly, councillor or any other position.”
Halifa noted that his party is committed to preparing young people to take leadership positions, indicating that in the past parliamentary and councillor elections, all their candidates were below 35 years, but Mr. Kurang challenged this statement.
“I’m a National Assembly contestant for the party, and since the election, no one has sent me a message. I met a contestant in Nuimi who told me that he left PDOIS because after losing the election, no one even bothered to text him,” Kurang said.
The leadership of the party refuses to organise any activity, and for those of us on the ground, any activity we organise they will say is not the story of PDOIS.
“PDOIS will say they have women and youth representatives, but where are those activities since 2021? In the West Coast, the coordinator resigned, and for two years, there was a push and pull to replace him. But this was a problem, and it ended with a meeting at the Bureau,” he added.
For Mr. Kurang, Halifa is the leader and the spokesperson who has the final say in everything within the party.
Kurang revealed that he once went to the PDOIS bureau for a meeting, and he was embarrassed by the PDOIS secretary, who stopped him at the gate.
“The systemic humiliation of people who disagreed with the PDOIS leadership is evident. Honourable Sallah make laws and changes laws at his will,” Kurang responded.
According to him, PDOIS has good policies, but the administration is very weak and run by one man.
“Since I joined PDOIS in 2021, every year we talked about the resolution of the member register for a petty is that 40 years old,” he revealed
Kurang stated that he listened to Halifa talking about the weakness of the agricultural sector.
“PDOIS is operating like the agricultural sector in the country.
The secretary-general has an invisible hand that makes all decisions,” he explained.
Kurang told the panel that after the 2021 parliamentary election, most of the PDOIS contestants were frustrated with the way they were treated.
In response, Halifa denied the allegations and challenged Mr. Kurang or any other PDOIS member to show evidence.
