By Basidia M Drammeh

Former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh is belligerently poking his nose in Gambia’s domestic politics, making hate speeches and promising his supporters that he will return to the country to restore his legacy that “the incumbent leader President Barrow had destroyed.”

Jammeh has been living in exile in Equatorial Guinea since his election defeat in 2016 at the hands of the Coalition led by President Adama Barrow.

The former Tyrant must be reminded that the Gambians still have vivid memories of his authoritarian and iron-fist rule that has inflicted immeasurable physical and psychological scars on the Gambian people. Hence, they will make sure that dictatorship never rears its ugly head in the country. Some of the victims of Jammeh’s despotic regime still live with trauma and distress and would like to see him tried for the atrocities he has committed. Countless witnesses, who appeared before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, have narrated agonizing tales of torture, arbitrary detentions, humiliation, forced disappearances, cold-blooded murders, unlawful dismissals, among others. If Jammeh was not the culprit, why didn’t he face the commission to clear his name?  Or is it profanity that prevented him from doing so?

Perhaps unhappy with Jammeh’s failure to bless the marriage between APRC and NPP as well his consequent and frequent attacks on him and his Government, President Barrow issued a rare stern warning against the leader of Gambia Democratic Congress, (GDC) Mamma Kandeh, to refrain from inviting Jammeh to his rallies. Mr. Barrow warned of legal measures if Kandeh continued to invite Jammeh to his political platforms. The latter defiantly reposited, insisting that he would continue to invite Jammeh to his rallies to speak. However, the Government has not met reacted to Kandeh’s defiant action.

Critics would suggest that the blame should be placed at the doorstep of President Barrow, who paved the way for Jammeh to interfere in domestic politics since he extended an olive branch to the former president, allying with his party; and even visiting his family out of “courtesy.”  Since then, Jammeh has frequently been addressing rallies organized by his supporters and rallies.

Jammeh’s speeches may undermine national security and spark a stifling political crisis in the country if the necessary measures are not taken to clip his wings.

By Madi Jobarteh

Special commendation to Commission on Political Debates (CPD) for hosting the first-ever true presidential debate because the debaters were indeed the actual candidates and not their representatives. For that matter, kudos to Halifa Sallah and Essa Faal for showing up and presenting their case and challenging each other as is expected. Both candidates were indeed passionate and forceful in presenting their case to convince citizens that one is better than the other.

Thus, contrary to other views, I find the tempo, attitudes and words of both Halifa and Essa to be appropriate. Their veiled and open attacks, the condescension, humour and the sarcasm and their underhand jabs are all common to debates and necessary for citizens to see and know who is who. Their interactions help to expose the quality of their ideas and policies and even their characters. This helps the listener to get more insight through their challenging each other’s ideas, rightly or wrongly. There was no indecency, hate, offensive or violence expression hence the debate was indeed fine. Halifa and Essa are therefore the winners of this debate.

This means the losers indeed are Adama Barrow, Ousainou Darboe, Mamma Kandeh and Abdoulie Jammeh. They did not only fail themselves and their parties but above all they also failed Gambians, woefully.

Coming to this debate is not about one’s opponent. Rather coming to this debate is about taking responsibility for your ideas as well as taking the leadership to share those ideas with citizens in asking them to give you their mandate. It is to have the will to face accountability for your ideas and to convince citizens that you have a well-thought-out agenda that is fit for purpose. Hence coming to this debate is about respecting the voter and citizens in general that one is humble and tolerant to face the people to explain oneself as to what you wish to do for their country.

Yes, one can argue that a political debate has not much value to promote a candidate’s agenda because they hold rallies across the country anyway. Such a view is myopic and unproductive. A presidential debate is an organised event in which debaters also get their thoughts organised and present it in a methodical manner. Where a rally may be big but it does not necessarily have substance because generally there are no organised thoughts and coherent presentations and no one is holding anyone accountable for what comes out of these rallies. In our typical rallies, it is usually only supporters who attend amidst lot of fanfare.

A presidential debate is different. Not only do you have more audience in a presidential debate since it is on live television and livestreamed, but the debate is also led by professional moderators who pose relevant and analytical questions. Furthermore, the debate is watched by everyone especially by various experts from different fields such as law, economy, security, health or education, who now come to provide expert analysis and fact-check the debate for the better understanding of the rest of the population. With this, a presidential candidate has the benefit of swinging undecided voters to one side as well as pull voters from one side to another.

A presidential debate is therefore the biggest rally ever. It is an indispensable campaign tool that no smart politician who is convinced of the correctness of his or her ideas should miss. Apart from these benefits, a presidential debate is also about courage of candidates to face opponents, moderators and experts as well as the audience to articulate one’s ideas. While a political rally is a friendly environment, a political debate on the other hand is basically a confrontational and even hostile platform that requires courage, self-control and maturity to take part.

Furthermore, a political debate serves to promote political tolerance and reduce the incidence of violence as citizens can see how their respective candidates can stand together to exchange ideas without the use of hateful or violent speech. Thus, the culture of political debate is good for any democracy.

Above all, political debates enhance our democracy and encourage citizen participation hence increase voter turnout. Many people do not go to rallies or watch them on television because rallies are very informal and full of propaganda and disinformation not to mention the vanity that flies around. Hence many more citizens are interested in a political debate because it is formal, organised, and propaganda and disinformation are exposed hence there is substance in political debates which is in the best interest of a candidate. Equally important also is that a political debate is a knowledge sharing platform that benefits the entire society.

Therefore, the decision by Barrow, Darboe, Kandeh and Jammeh not to take part in this debate is inexcusable, unacceptable, cowardly and a demonstration of poor leadership. They have denied citizens immense opportunity to better know them and their ideas and help make informed choices. These candidates have therefore undermined both themselves and the progressive realisation of democracy and popular participation in this country. They have wasted the resources of CPD unnecessarily which have spent a lot to host this event. Above all, these candidates have denied Gambians to get to know and see, not only their agenda and ideas but also to know and see their character in such a confrontational environment.

I hope they will take part in the next debate!

Tell a man who has been in a particular business before you’re born that his ideas are bad and you’re going to have a problem with him.

Essa Faal learnt this truth on Saturday when he attacked Halifa Sallah’s ideas in a way that has never been seen before. He treated Mr Sallah’s ideas to development with every disdain and no wonder the PDOIS leader resisted.

“This is not the type of debate I wanted to engage in, it is very combative. I expected something different. But then when personal assault comes, I will hit the person right in the face and people must be careful,” Mr Sallah warned right at the end of the debate while reacting to Essa’s behavior towards him.

Essa came to this debate ready for war, a war he never contemplating losing. He wanted to come out of this impressing the entire nation. That’s Essa. He loves being seen as the best and must be and that’s why he hated it the rest were not there.

The first signs of these two men not getting along came in the first segment when Essa attacked Mr Sallah’s cooperative bank. Sallah wants to set up a cooperative bank to support farmers in their agriculture but an unimpressed Essa blasted: “We have had the agricultural development bank, it failed woefully. Sovereign wealth funds can fail. They are just like state-owned enterprises that are given resources to manage but if they are to be managed in the manner suggested by Honourable Sallah, I think it’s going to fail.”

While Halifa remained patient as Essa went about castigating his ideas, there was every indication it’s only a matter of time before Halifa had enough of him. Essa wanted voters to know Halifa has outdated ideas that can’t work anywhere. And for Halifa to attempt to describe Essa as someone who going about enabling the Jammeh dictatorship by prosecuting him showed he has been provoked.

One top official of Essa asked my expert media view on how the two men fared and this is what I told him: ‘for me, neither of the leaders was clear enough in terms of their policies. They don’t look like people who have a full understanding of their own policies’.

I say this because for example, when asked how he is going improve quality education in Gambia, Mr Faal only stop at saying we need quality professionals (teachers) but did not say how he is going to ensure that. He also talked about vocational and skills training which he said is what the country needs. Education mismatch has nothing to do with improving quality.

Equally, when asked the same question, Halifa also could not say much other than putting experts together to look at the entire education system and providing free education. Those are clearly not clear-cut solutions to the issue of quality.

In the end the two men walked to each other and hugged. But that’s just for the optics.

Jammeh’s latest address is reassurance he can give away anything but his arrogance. Only death can make him part with that.

The former dictator called again from his Equatorial Guinea hideout despite President Adama Barrow’s warning to Mamma Kandeh to stop inviting the former president to his platforms. Mamma vowed he will continue to let the former president speak at his rallies, and Jammeh speaking on Thursday meant he has dared the president.

Jammeh’s address on Thursday showed he remains a bitter man. He has still not been able to come to terms with his electoral defeat in 2016. No wonder he continues to be the Trump of The Gambia by continuing with his lie the election was stolen. Nobody stole that election. Gambians had enough of his madness and sacked him.

President Barrow must stand firm against Jammeh. He is right that Jammeh is trying to create chaos in the country. Jammeh’s recent hate speech against the Mandinkas is more than enough to take action against him. Jammeh is on an asylum and has no business with Gambian politics.

Throughout his 21-minute address, Jammeh simply addressed President Adama Barrow as Adama Barrow. Jammeh can’t even accept what God decreed: the presidency of President Barrow. The sooner the president sees this the better.

But Jammeh is delusional too to say he will take Gambia to the Promised Land when he comes back whether President Adama Barrow likes it or not.

Still, Jammeh is like Commander Alincak. Alincak was a top Mongolian commander who conquered nearly half of the world and then headed for Anatolia. Just as he was about to conquer the entire world, he got destroyed by a brave Turkish warrior who had only a few hundred men at his disposal. Arrogance destroys a man and Jammeh should ask Alincak or even the Pharoah.

As the Gambia heads for presidential elections on December 4th, we should evaluate which factors could potentially impact voter behavior.

Demographic-based alignments should be openly accepted as the most useful analytical tools for political analysts in the Gambia although, some people downplayed it for political correctness

The NPP-led coalition must watch ESSA MBYE FAAL (independent Candidate) very closely. He could be the biggest spoiler for the Grand coalition, as was the case in 2016. Coalition 2016 would not have won the election if Mama Kandeh (GDC) had joined them would have been a landslide for Yaya Jammeh and the APRC.

Identity politics is visible in our everyday politics. Let us look at the map showing voter preferences in the 2016 presidential election, 2017 National assembly election, and the recent By-election in Niamina West and Jokardo, which indicates physical segregation of citizens based on their political preferences.

Most Gambian are conservative people who prefer to live near to people similar to them. The predictability of voter behavior in regions or constituencies is widely observed in The Gambia.

From the regional level to constituencies, there are many areas dominated by a particular party. This trend can also be observed within cities with voters of different parties concentrated in different areas.

NPP-led Coalition already won the psychology of the race the recent endorsement of various presidential candidates that got rejected by the IEC demonstrated they are way ahead of the UDP when it comes to the perception of who will win the election.

The biggest blessing of the NPP Led coalition is they are all-inclusive, and all demographics take ownership of the NPP. UDP is struggling in that regard, and they still did not have the right strategy. Any election between UDP and NPP alone would be a landslide for the NPP.

Essa Faal is the biggest threat to NPP’s ability to win in this election, for if Essa Mbye Faal does very well in this election could affect the NPP margin of votes. The NPP Led Coalition must not be complacent because thinking beyond identity requires cognitive effort, and in the case of The Gambia, it is our reality, and it is almost impossible to change such perception within this period.

Taking a closer look at the Essa Mbye Faal Campaign Itinerary would further concretize my argument by looking at the demographics he is targeting. NPP Led Coalition must focus on regions, constituencies where Essa Faal would be doing meetings and rallies to ensure he did not cause an upset in favor of the UDP.

NPP should not rely on media focus must be on grassroots Campaigns, for the media have faced challenges in terms of perception of voters. Supporters of different political parties are receiving their news from totally different sources and form their opinions based on those.

Moreover, almost all supporters of Political Parties have decided to choose which news media to trust and deliberately accused certain news sources of others as biased, unlike their own.

News media in the Gambia also has been polarized, and mainstream platforms have been wiped out over time. Personal opinions are formed by judging the source of news items rather than by evaluating their content.

People accept the arguments of the members of their parties without questioning their validity, and they can be prejudiced against those of the other opponents.

In this election, many voters genuinely feel they live in a time in which their survival is threatened by political instability if a particular party wins. This is helping the NPP in many ways due to their all-inclusiveness in comparison to their political opponents.

I believe NPP Led coalition has a compelling argument to make if they focus and continue making such arguments using their all-inclusiveness, the message of peace, national unity, and reconciliation.

The more Gambian are getting educated, the more they showcase identity solidarity. On various Facebook platforms, comments echoing tribal sentiments; are made by people that should be role models in our society. Although, identity politics is not unique to the Gambia; it can be observed from the United States, the United Kingdom, etc.

Finally, I am predicting the NPP Led coalition will win the December 4th presidential election from 60% to 70% if they adhere to the above advice.

Kebba L Nanko

New York, USA

By Madi Jobarteh

More importantly, if a person is appointed in a position why would his or her ethnicity count as the basis of that appointment? If we should go by that view of the Tinpot Dictator, will it be fair to say all his appointments when he was President were also driven by tribalism as he levied against Barrow?

Certainly Dictator Jammeh appointed so many officials to strategic and top positions who came from his own ethnic group yet he has always said he was against tribalism. Were those appointments coincidence and based on merit or they were driven by tribalism by design? Jammeh needs to answer that.

Therefore what justification is there to claim that the current President’s appointments were ethnic driven but Jammeh’s own appointments were not ethnic driven even though he had more top officials from his own ethnic group appointed to top positions? This needs serious interrogation.

When we do the analysis therefore it will be apparent that indeed it was Jammeh who was ethnic-inclined than anyone contrary to his claims – that is, going by his own claims of tribalism against others.

Thanks to Malagen for this succinct fact checking to expose his falsehoods and bigotry. People should reject the false narratives of this disgraced Tinpot Dictator which are intended for only one thing: To manufacture a way to divide and destabilize The Gambia for his own survival and escape from justice.

Nominations for the presidency have now been completed and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has produced a list of those who have made the cut. Successful candidates are now preparing for the second crucial stage of this democratic process, official campaigns. For the next three weeks, presidential hopefuls, including incumbent Adama Barrow, will be crisscrossing the length and breadth of the country, selling their agenda in every political unit of this country.

But this election will be the most consequential and competitive poll in our nation’s recent history. It is the first time in over two decades that Gambians are actively and freely engaging in a democratic process that has almost been flawless thus far, albeit the two “politically-motivated” episodes – arrest and charges of factional APRC Leader, Jerrending Sanyang, and the freezing of the business accounts of businessman cum UDP opposition sympathizer Alhagie Conteh of Dabani Electricals. While the two incidents seem small, they have the potential to impair the electoral process as they resemble dictatorial tendencies, synonymous with the past.

Without making those incidents the focus of this essay, overall, the electoral process has been freer, credit to Gambians on the other hand (they brought the change), and the government institutions to a large extent.

It is not just the freedoms and a tolerant political environment that is important to the masses given the never-ending task of State building. As the award-winning journalist, Naomi Klein noted, “Democracy is not just the right to vote, it is the right to live in dignity.” To interrogate Naomi’s points, democratic gains must be consolidated by instituting a capable government that is well-placed to guaranteeing the dignity of the citizens through meaningful sustainable development and functioning institutions. In essence, democracy is an ongoing process requiring that citizens always hold their government accountable. And there is no better way of doing that than having a consistent active voice and voting in an election.

Thus, for this election, few but critical issues should come to voters’ minds when they enter the polling booth to drop their marble. Follow this piece as I discuss those points.

Competent Leadership

While 2016 was an exceptional case – an agitated nation wanted a dictator out at all cost regardless of who led-, The Gambia must begin to inject seriousness in our governance process. To be blunt about my assessment over the last five years, governance and leadership were characterized by utter mediocrity and complete disdain for meritocracy. The last five years saw the appointments of semi-literates as advisers to the Head of State, people with clear dearth of policy knowledge or experience. The resultant effects of these appointments were several embarrassing decisions that emanated from the State House only to have them revised because they were either in contravention of the law or were non-compliance to best practices in a democracy.  The bar was lowered to the extent a chef in a certain European country with no political clout or social influence could brag about placing a direct line to the President to discuss policy matters that affect the lives of the people. And to mention the elephant in the room, the President woefully failed to learn and grow on his job despite the resources and privileges at his disposal. Several opportunities for the country became lost opportunities due to the inept nature of the Head of State and his sheer lack of confidence and learnability. For example, The Gambia should have by now been playing an effective role in the comity of nations as a model of democracy given our rare history of booting out one of Africa’s most brutal dictators in the last five decades. Our story as a nation received so much international goodwill that it only takes a smart leader with a storytelling ability to sell our image and desire to develop. Alas, Barrow’s lack of self-confidence to sell this beautiful story has cost the nation. Just recently, Sierra Leonean President Maada Bio, who only ascended to power in 2018, was the only African leader participating in the global summit on Action to Achieve Equality and Inclusion on the margins of the UN General Assembly. Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo was also standing side by side with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris holding a bilateral presser. Zambia’s new leader Hakainde Hichilema, who only took power a few months ago, was also with Vice President Harris in Washington. Of all these countries, The Gambia’s story is outstanding. The difference is that, their leaders, who only came to power after Barrow, have an incredible storytelling ability, vision, and the wherewithal to forge their countries’ strategic interest at the citadel of global diplomacy.

Back home, The Gambia also lost on the gains of the famous Brussels Donor Conference that garnered a whopping $1.7 billion in pledges. Government officials would always make bold claims that a good percentage of that money was received, but it is hard to imagine how much of that translated into the improvement of livelihoods. For an economy, this small, such money, when effectively utilized, should have had a profound impact on the country’s development trajectory and citizens’ livelihood.

Thus, to avoid the April 2018 Chatham House disaster, voters should consider competence in leadership. Those willing to offer their services on our behalf must be extremely competent, they must be beyond reproach. To borrow from Author John J. Pershing, “A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary, an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.” To want to lead a country of two million people is a serious undertaking that should require that the best of us is chosen for the top job. That is simple arithmetic! Because the bar for the presidency has been lowered, a presidential hopeful can present a poem-like single page as his manifesto before our Election House. He would eventually be received for endorsement by the highest office after his failed bid.

Therefore, competent leadership should inform voters’ choice in the election. The presidency shouldn’t be an experimental office for amateurs and unsophisticated politicians. The analogy is like asking a clueless person to enter a medical theater and begin playing with tools to perform surgical operations. Managing a state is a surgical process requiring extraordinary skills to succeed.

Draft Constitution

When the coalition leaders hit the 2016 campaign trail, they promised Heaven to abandon Dictator Yahya Jammeh’s retrogressive constitution and deliver Gambians a new progressive constitution that will adhere to democratic values. As part of this promise, they singled out the need for term limits, that no Gambian should ever rule more than two five-year terms.

Fast-forward to 2018, the Barrow-led government instituted the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) through the National Assembly at a cost of a whopping D116M. At its launch, Barrow boldly declared, “I hold the view, as some other Gambians do, that a two-term limit for all Heads of State of the Republic should be entrenched in the new constitution.” However, it soon became apparent that Barrow’s words were mere political rhetoric meant to appease the unsuspecting public. After the CRC made wide consultations both domestically and abroad, they produced a draft constitution that won the praise of Gambians and her development partners.  Indeed, constitutions can never meet the needs of everyone, but the CRC draft was generally hailed as a masterpiece for its progressive and comprehensive nature.

As citizens began to digest the provisions of the draft, leaked documents emerged from State House, showing Barrow’s displeasure at provisions he deemed “biased” and “unfair.” Of all the provisions, the section on the retroactive application of two five-year term limits that counted Barrow’s current mandate became the most frowned upon section by the Barrow’s cabinet (The Standard, 2020). To Barrow and his surrogates, the two-term mandate should start after the end of his current mandate. Simply put, Barrow wants 15 years or more in power! For a President who pledged to serve only three years and step down, serving 10 years isn’t enough a time. To Barrow, Gambians, who he let down, were unfair to him; that the current term is his luck and therefore should not be counted.

The leaked State House papers, serialized in The Standard newspaper, apparently triggered anxiety and intense debate about the fate of the draft. As the draft headed for the National Assembly, there was growing concern that Barrow and his legislative allies were hatching a plot to kill the draft national document. And the fears were confirmed when 23 of the 56 lawmakers dramatically scuttled the draft in what many Gambians concluded was the mother of all betrayals of the Barrow presidency. Had the constitution passed, The Gambia would have been in the Third Republic with a constitution befitting of the democratic order. But as many analysts have noted, one man’s interest had to force its way against the collective interest of the masses. This is something to decipher as Gambians head to the poll. Voters must reflect on this brazen betrayal of trust and hold Barrow accountable for denying Gambians a chance to have a progressive constitution.

Justice and Accountability for Jammeh-era Crimes

One would have thought that after the failure of the CRC project, Barrow would make good on the last hope of the transitional mechanism processes – accountability and justice for Jammeh-era crimes. The stories that came out of the Truth Commission were like horror series. The harrowing testimonials of the murder, rape, and torture at the behest of Dictator Jammeh brought to fore the country’s darkest chapter. The tales were so disturbing that many ever doubted that political expediency would be considered at the altar of justice and accountability. Jammeh’s victims were being mocked by his APRC supporters who continue to deny these abominable State-sanctioned crimes.

As victims bravely sat before national airwaves to tell their difficult ordeals, little did they know that they were being mortgaged by President Barrow for political expediency. Unbeknown to them, Barrow was engaged in political brinkmanship to achieve longevity of power. This is a President who never set foot at the Victim’s Center. He never invited victims to State House to console them. This is a President who rarely acknowledges the plight of the victims in his national addresses. But this is the President who hatched a perpetrator-centered approach to reconciliation by visiting Dictator Jammeh’s extended family in Kanilai.

As if that was not enough, Barrow went ahead to formally announce a marriage with Dictator Jammeh’s party, declaring the decision, “My wisest decision in my political history.” And on his nomination day, this same President declared again that his alliance with the APRC is “in the national interest.” Ex-Justice Minister Ba Tambadou must be silently weeping at the fruitless outcome of his patriotic work – that man gave his all for the transition program mechanisms. Gambian voters must reflect on this and hold Barrow accountable for they were promised #NeverAgain.

Anti-corruption and Public Sector Graft

The Barrow government has indeed crafted an Anti-Corruption Commission Bill that currently sits at the National Assembly. For whatever reason, that draft bill never seemed to move through the floor. However, this government has been hit by several corruption scandals – the unresolved fertilizer scandal involving then Agriculture Minister Amadou Omar Jallow and his deputy permanent secretary (Kerr Fatou, 2018), the Fisheries scandal that involved then Permanent Secretary Dr. Bamba Banja and Minister James Gomez (Malagen, 2020), the diplomatic passport scandal (The Standard, 2019), the infamous D33M scandal involving Barrow and the First Lady (The Fatu Network, 2018), lawmakers’ presidential brown envelop scandal (Freedom, 2018), the D2.2M Malagasy Covid-19 herbal medicine transport scandal (Malagen, 2021), etc. To cap the scandals, Barrow recently confessed that a luxurious four-wheel drive that he was driving was gifted to him by a wealthy Senegalese businessman, Kalidou Waggeh, a man alleged to have several business interests and political ties in The Gambia since 2017. That one confession alone speaks volumes of the President’s approach to public sector graft. It would have triggered an impeachment proceeding in an advanced democracy where the State institutions are strong. Alas, it came and passed without even CSOs raising a red flag.

To date, this government only brought to court one senior government official – Dr. Bamba Banja – for allegedly collecting bribes from the Chinese. A critical look at Banja’s case indicates that it’s a mere attempt to whitewashing the narrative as the State only rushed it to court knowing elections draw close. Banja’s minister, meanwhile, has been left to roam despite audios implicating him. Gomez is among a pool of other senior government officials who have been left to carry on despite their complicity/involvement in corrupt practices. In a nutshell, the Barrow administration has never taken public sector graft seriously and has seemingly turned a blind eye to this problem as confirmed by the U.S. State Department in its Investment Climate Statements of 2021 (The Standard, 2021).

Failing Security Sector Reforms, Police Force in Focus

It only takes one to read the recently published outrageous statement of Deputy Inspector General of Police Modou Sowe to understand why the country’s much-trumpeted Security Sector Reform (SSR) hasn’t still gathered steam. In that The Standard newspaper article that has now attracted the wrath of the Bar Association, Sowe claimed that executive orders from the President are “considered law.” This thinking at the police hierarchy gives one an idea of why certain actions of the police continue to worry citizens. The most recent of these actions was the disruption of a press conference and arrest of the leader of the factional APRC, Jerending Sanyang. This was a new low in the enforcement history of the police. Sowe’s statement also explains the reason why the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) would engage themselves in an administrative affair involving Kanifing Municipal Council and the Ministry of Lands. Sowe’s statement explains why Human Rights Defender Madi Jobarteh would be arrested and slammed with bogus charges of “false information and broadcasting” (Article 19, 2020). Sowe’s statement further demonstrates why the State security agents would storm radio stations, force them off the air, and arrest and detain incommunicado their journalists (The Standard, 2020). And Sowe’s statement explains why the police would deliberately arrest and harass journalists only to release them on the pretext that they were mistakenly taken in.

Of all the state security institutions, the police remain the most unreformed institution. The police have not emulated the military that has since seemingly departed from its norm and is now projecting an apolitical image. The failing of the police is due to the lack of political will towards SSR. It is troublesome that a police high command still thinks it is okay to implement whatever orders the President gives.

To conclude, the five issues discussed above should inform every Gambian voter as they prepare to cast their vote on December 4^th. Voters should hold any politician who has reneged on his promises. Every voter should ask the toughest questions bearing in mind the fact that their livelihoods depend on the answers the politicians provide. Those who failed to deliver on the issues addressed above must not be voted.

Hatab Fadera is a Master of Arts Candidate in Emerging Media Design and Development at Ball State University, Indiana, USA.

Now that the die is cast with only 6 presidential candidates endorsed by the IEC, Gambians can now be rest assured that President Adama Barrow will have a second term on December 4th 2021.

Skeptics were concerned about the possible disqualification of Lawyer Ousainou Darbo and its political and security ramifications but after contesting and losing four times in the past 22 years another chance for him to run against Barrow will simply add the 5th notch of defeat in his unflattering record of always losing.

Anything different from allowing Mr. Darbo to contest would have muddied the political waters and probably cause avoidable chaos.

His criminal record upheld by the Gambia Supreme Court and ECOWAS courts was throughout feared to be his Achilles heel and perhaps his dismissal from office as vice president which in our constitution were both causes for disqualifying a presidential contender.

However talking to an independent reporter privy to the twelve points listed by the IEC as their qualification criteria the constitutional interdiction of criminals, dismissed persons and even those carrying dual citizenships were excluded. Why? I sure don’t know and hope that that decision by the ICC is defensible when challenged in the courts.

Notwithstanding we in the NPP-led coalition impressively reinforced by the mighty APRC are not complaining because of our confidence to win big on December 4th 2021.

Sorry that Dr. Ismaila Ceesay really miscalculated the intricacies of the political battleground regardless of his wisdom, education and charm. Failure to secure the required number of cardholders in his nomination process to take him across the most critical battleline only manifested his shortcomings or inadequacies of a political science doctor zealously challenging a humble businessman. In his mandatory assets declaration to the IEC it is reported that he only had D20,000.00 in his bank account. Without enough campaign-donor funs necessarily to win supporters I find it naive of him to believe that Gambian voters will elect him for only his good looks on huge billboards.

Barrow the underrated businessman has ultimately outmanoeuvred the smart doctor this time even before the game began. But the question is, how did Essa Faal with his “mbojombojo” and “katchapan” crowd beat Dr. Ceesay in the game of politics? Think about that folks.

In the case of Mai Fatty the embarrassment of exposing the weakness of his party by his failure to qualify further confirmed the long-conceived notion that the GMC was a briefcase party with no significant number of followers to win him any elections.

But Mr. Fatty may have known his fate on the nomination day and as a result started showning the UDP as his party of preference; along with his party’s flag in his right hand that morning he had hoisted the UDP yellow flag in his left hand after completing his nomination process. I will not therefore be surprised if Fatty in the coming days pledges his alligence to Darbo and the UDP. He could come back to the NPP and will without doubt be unconditionally accepted by President Adama Barrow and his accommodating NPP. But will he do it? I wouldn’t bet on it.

Anyway accordingly to President Barrow the NPP’s doors are still opened for everybody willing to come including Dr. Ismaila Ceesay,  Mr. Mai Fatty and definitely Sheikh Tijan Hydara of GANU and the rest of the disqualified candidates.

The NPP will indeed accept Mr. Shiekh Tijan Hydara whom I understand was these days toying with the idea of either joining the NPP or the UDP.

The NPP will nevertheless win and nothing can stop that in five weeks time. Take it from me that we will converge at the Statehouse the day after for the big celebration. Weew Barrow ?????

Samsudeen Sarr

For NPP-led coalition party

It would have been a shame if the IEC had rejected UDP leader Darboe’s nomination. The election would have been a boring, lifeless event.

When Momodou Sabally marched to the IEC compound with those big envelopes, there was a feeling Darboe wasn’t taking any chances. With everything that had been said, every detail mattered.

A day before Darboe’s confirmation, some of his supporters peddled the false claim the IEC has disqualified him, making good on a conspiracy to stop him from running. You then had others writing that without Darboe, there would be no election. With his clearing now, he is now set to collide with his own son for the most eagerly anticipated political war in Gambian history.

Never mind Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder’s trilogy or Mohammed Ali and George Foreman’s Rumble in the Jungle. This one would be a monumental clash involving pound-for-pound political heavyweights. Darboe has voters behind him but Barrow too has voters behind him.

I want these two men to face each other in December for one reason: it’s about father and son who have accused each other of betrayal. God himself will now arbitrate this feud through the citizens who are set to vote. We will get to learning who is right and who is wrong.

I need not bore you with who I think will come out on top as I have done so, so many times in the past. President Barrow is out to annihilate (retire) an ageing father while Darboe is out to stop a son he believes is wayward. Whatever the result, this family feud will be done for good.

The also-rans in this election is becoming clear. It’s only a matter of time before they’re honest with themselves and coming out to tell citizens they do not have what it takes to compete in this heavyweight contest. It’s also only a matter of time before we learn the handful of contenders in a race that would go down in history as initially boasting of 26 candidates.

Nomination for president is underway with 18 candidates so far presenting their certificates and IDs to officials of the Independent Electoral Commission for vetting. The problem is some have already started conceding even before the race could even start.

I have been at Election House every day since nomination began on Saturday and I can tell you some of these leaders are in this for the buzz. Coming to present your nomination papers with just your taxi driver or five supporters is scandalous. And that’s me being kind.

UDP did well on Monday in terms of crowd. They showed they mean business in terms of the number of people I have seen. Crowd is what makes one win an election. And no wonder Mr Darboe confidently declared that change is coming.

It’s laughable and ridiculous for a leader to dismiss the role of crowd in this election. I repeat: crowd is what makes one win an election. Any leader who says otherwise is fooling no one but himself.

So far, it’s UDP who have made a strong statement intent. President Barrow will be at the IEC on Thursday. He will be looking to answer UDP in kind. This election is surely not for the unpopular and the supporter-less.

By Madi Jobarteh

Following its nomination today, GDC went ahead to hold a rally at Buffer Zone in Talinding where they gave the Tinpot Dictator Yaya Jammeh the platform to address the gathering. In his address, Yaya Jammeh spared no effort but to spew once again dangerous tribal remarks intended to generate hatred between the Mandinka and the rest of the Gambian population. Through disinformation, Yaya Jammeh embarked on discriminatory, hate and dangerous speech intended to alienate Gambians from one another.

The Gambia Democratic Congress and its presidential candidate Mamma Kandeh must realise that they owe an obligation to the Gambia and the Constitution to maintain national unity, cohesion and peace. Hence GDC must realise that it is failing itself, not to even mention the Gambia when they give space to a disgraced tyrant to spread hate and discrimination in our society. Yaya Jammeh’s only wish is to see a failed and broken Gambia so that he can vindicate himself. But should GDC allow itself to be used as the weapon of a disgraced tyrant?

It is obvious to any sensible person that Yaya Jammeh is a failed tyrant who is a disgrace to the Gambia and the rest of the world. Having failed in his 22 years of misrule, Yaya has nothing left but to seek ways and means of circumventing justice and accountability by any means. This is why he is seeking every possible way to destabilise and divide the Gambia so that he can prevent or delay his day of reckoning.

Gambians cannot forget the pain and misery of Yaya Jammeh’s misrule which was characterised by rapes, tortures, disappearances and killings. In 22 years, Jammeh indebted and impoverished the Gambia as never seen before while plundering public wealth and personalising state institutions for his selfish interest.

But today, Yaya Jammeh is trying to hang onto a small community of desperate supporters most of who were even his direct victims or families of his victims. These are people who generally lack political awareness or are consumed by Yaya’s tribal bigotry and false narratives such that they are fooled to believe that they owe him anything! But should GDC and Mamma Kandeh bring itself so low or allow to be fooled? Should the desire for winning the presidency make Mamma Kandeh abandon his obligation to the Gambian nation?

GDC and Mamma Kandeh must be told to pursue only noble and honourable means to gain the mandate of Gambians rather going through a party and a man who are known for only misrule and atrocities. GDC must remember that the people had given their mandate to Yaya Jammeh and APRC on four consecutive times in this country and all throughout that period, Yaya did not only betray the country but also went further to destroy the rights and lives of the people with impunity.

Therefore, why would GDC and Mamma Kandeh pretend to forget or ignore our most recent difficult past only to entertain a man whose victims are also among the very supporters of GDC?

The Gambia Government, IEC and the Inter-Party Committee must tell GDC and Mamma Kandeh that they would be held responsible if Yaya Jammeh succeeds in fomenting tribal war in this country. All Gambians must tell GDC that their decision to embrace Yaya Jammeh is unpatriotic, dishonest and irresponsible and they must be held accountable if Yaya Jammeh sets this country on fire.

For The Gambia Our Homeland

By Lamin HAN Mbye

The December 4^th Presidential Election is a turning point for The Gambia. It determines whether Gambians are eager to make a ‘Turn Around’ from the inept policies of the current government and implement the transformational change we aspired in 2016 for the prosperity of every Gambian, or continue the current path of political depravity and hopelessness for the average Gambian in Dumbutu, Kiang West. The choices are clear, but the onus to make the right decision squarely rests on the Gambian people.

Likewise, the problems of our country are clear for everyone to see. However, I will list a few, just to be specific:

• Skyrocketed prices of commodities that is making nearly 90% Gambians unable to afford two full meals a day
• Youths being neglected and marginalized, which leaves our youngsters with no path for professional development and gainful employment
• Deplorable healthcare system that subjects women, children and the elderly to a heightened risk of poor health and preventable death. Hence the mass exodus of Gambians to Senegal in seek of medical services, and the high cases of maternal and infant mortality in the country
• Constant toiling of farmers every rainy season, without any hope to harvest their crops successfully and sell them at competitive prices
• Substandard public education curriculum that makes Senior Secondary School graduates find it almost impossible to attain college admission in any other part of the World, than the University of the Gambia
• Endemic corruption and bribery that have become customary for survival
• Scarcity of basic needs such as water, electricity, and food that forces a citizenry to fetch for themselves at any cost
• The list is long, but you get the gist…

As I have often shared, these problems, which typify our current society are neither ordained, nor destined. Instead, they are well-established by our own actions. They are the direct consequence of feckless and irresponsible leadership. Like many countries in the Continent, the root cause of Gambia’s political decadence and social stagnancy is simply inept leadership that is immune to discipline and accountability. As the dictum commands, although leadership traits can be acquired, they should never be imitated. Therefore, it becomes a no-brainer that whenever a nation entrusts leadership in ineffectual individuals who have no interest in serving the public but their own gratification, what generally ensues is unaccountability, poor governance and subsequent haplessness for its youths, women and children. The current situation in our country fits this scenario quite aptly.

The role of any government is to create opportunities for its citizenry to unleash their God-given potentials and engender a decent living for themselves and their families – through good governance, political stability and institutional continuity, underlined by an auspicious environment for intellectualism and innovation. On the hand, any government that fails to provide these pre-requisites – by high-jacking the State’s resources for the benefit of just a few, is planting the seeds for its citizens to take matters into their own hands and forcefully snatch their equitable share of the national ‘cake’; it is that simple! Hence, the recent spike of armed robbery in The Gambia. Indeed, Sociology dictates that when the law and conscience do not coincide, then it is the responsibility of citizens to promote justice by disobeying the law, to paraphrase.

Therefore, if we want to solve our national problems and tilt the development trajectory of The Gambia to its right course, we must tackle the root cause of our predicaments by electing capable and competent individuals in public offices – most-importantly, the Presidency. This will then ensure good governance, probity, and institutional reforms, which will ultimately usher the socio-economic and cultural transformation that will put The Gambia on a similar path of Singapore in the 1960’s, China in the 1970’s, and next-door Senegal currently.

In an open letter sent to President Barrow on February 2, 2017 – two weeks after his meteoric ascend to the Presidency, I congratulate him and offered my humble views on how his newly-formed government should thread its development agenda to ensure that we maneuver through the post-twenty-two-year dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh successfully, and provide a new beginning with a new sense of hope for Gambians (https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/an-open-letter-to-president-barrow-and-party-coalition-of-the-gambia). In that piece, I admonished that Africa continues to occupy the bottom of the totem-pole for human development and social progress simply because of its leaderships’ insatiable thirst for power. I specified that to successfully emerge from the political debauchery of Yahya Jammeh’s past government, his new administration must first, safeguard the transitional agreement of the 2016 Coalition and second, conform to the basic tenets of democracy characterized by constitutional, institutional, and social reforms. I implored Mr. Barrow to beware of sycophancy (being a political amateur), because it merely degrades conscientiousness and prompts demagoguery. I reminded our novice president the unique opportunity at his doorstep to add his name to the coveted list of the ‘Aden Addes’, ‘Toumani Toures’, and ‘Nelson Mandelas’ of Africa. I then wished Mr. Barrow well, and expressed my keenness to re-visit his scripted-version of our national history.

Although I was heartened by the formation of the Truth Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) to provide closure for Gambian victims brutalized by Yahya Jammeh, I was more saddened by Mr. Barrow’s failure to simply do the right thing, by catalyzing the ‘Turn Around’ and reform we so desperately yearned for during the 2016 elections. Instead of upholding the Coalition’s gentlemanly agreement, spelled-out in a well-orchestrated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Barrow brazenly undermined the MOU (aided and abetted by his ilk), scrapped the transitional agenda, and dashed the fateful hopes of Gambians for national reform and transformation – essentially reeling the country back to its political stagnancy and societal decrepitude.

It is therefore, unsurprising that the current political landscape in The Gambia is inundated with twenty-six Presidential aspirants. Many among them perceive The Gambia as a sweet pie without much dough in its crust. Thus, the size of one’s share is not determined by how deep in the pie you cut, but how wide on its circumference you split. As a result, a toady ‘Ch(J)eetah’ will find it necessary to call upon Gambians to pick up arms if NPP loses the election, while a savvy ‘pigeon’ with a PhD sits quietly in the West, hoping that everything will fall in their right places. To these same candidates, if Adama Barrow can regulate who gets what size of the pie, while Gambians meander along the Atlantic coast smiling, then everyone gets a shot at having the same leverage over the pie. Fortunately, few of the presidential aspirants possess the moral character to remember the poor woman toiling at the Jahaly Pacharr rice fields who has been patiently hoping to get her fair share of the pie.

To fulfill such hope, these level-headed candidates must realize the common goal in this election, which is to set aside their individual ambitions and rally under a unified coalition to get rid of Barrow from the State House. This will avert a much-disastrous likelihood of Barrow’s entrenchment in power and a possible chaotic Gambia where people will have to disobey the law to feed themselves. If we are truly serious about saving The Gambia from its current clutches of political greed, this ‘bigger picture’ must be non-elusive. We orchestrated such mechanism to jettison a twenty-two-year giant in 2016 and should be able to do the same to discard a five-year dwarf in 2021, realizing that there is much greater strength in unity.

It is important for every Gambian to realize that the stakes of this year’s election are higher than ever before. It will literally determine whether we are genuine with our clarion call for a ‘new Gambia’, or willing to recoil to the backwardness of political entrenchment for Mr. Barrow, and utter hopelessness for Gambians. We must therefore, stay vigilant by recognizing the common goal of rescuing our country once again, and entrusting leadership in the capable hands of Gambians who will prioritize competence, integrity, and efficiency in administering our nation’s affairs, and equity in disbursing our State’s resources. We have the capability of creating a better country for our people, and providing them with a dignified livelihood. Per capita, the Gambian is just as pragmatic as any other national in the world. We undergo training in the world’s finest institutions and excel in every professional discipline we engage. Among us are academics, intellectuals, clinicians, technocrats, and entrepreneurs, to name a few. Through visionary leadership, we can reform our education structure, build an industrious human capital, and revamp our cultural mindset towards discipline, work ethics, and national transformation overall.

Since we are taught that the multitude of the wise is the welfare of a nation, we must stand together as one people, with one goal, and for one country. For if we insist on pursuing our selfish interests through sycophancy and toadyism, we will indeed wallow. Let us renew these promises we made to ourselves and to our nation at the time of independence, as enshrined in our National Anthem.

Thank you, and may God bless The Gambia!

Disclaimer:

Lamin HAN Mbye, PhD is a Gambian-American Neuroscientist, and a current member of the Strategy Group for the Essa Mbye Faal “Turn Around – ‘Sobeyaa’” campaign.

The views expressed in this op-ed are Dr. Mbye’s independent perspectives, and not an official representation of the “Turn Around – ‘Sobeyaa’” campaign. Any reaction or input can be directed at Dr. Mbye. He can be reached at 502-545-3766.

By Sainey Darboe

In what constitutes a clearly desperate and poorly executed attempt at image-laundering,UDP recently put out a documentary on the life and times of its perennial candidate, Ousainou Darboe.

A trained eye is left deeply shocked UDP honchos think reputation-enhancement has been achieved with such an effort shorn of candor, imagination, freshness and creative mastery.

I watched the documentary and what I gleaned beyond the uncritical acclaim is a missed opportunity for UDP to achieve purchase on the public mind with their policies and a stated ambition to do better for the country

Instead of leaving it to viewers to decide for themselves whether he is a legend or not;the documentary makers who are pellucidly no supreme geniuses cheaply declared him one without properly submitting him for extreme vetting.

Significant aspects of his later contributions to Gambia’s political evolution as well as his part in the current mess we find ourselves in have been grossly overlooked.

Adama Barrow,in his current iteration,is a creation of Ousainou Darboe who emboldened him to tear up the 3-year transition consensus and seek self-perpetuation in the service of his political ambitions.

Darboe’s calculation for scuppering the momentum of protests for Adama Barrow to quit after three years was to set the stage for himself to take over.But his scheme failed in spectacular fashion; and the relationship between father and son soured creating an internecine political atmosphere.

The documentary conveniently ignored the fact that Darboe invited Jammeh enablers into the system by championing the appointment of former speaker Abdoulie Bojang as ambassador, among other catastrophic high-profile hiring decisions.

What’s even more galling is the callous indifference to the plight of people who went to prison with Darboe.Unable to afford required medical treatment abroad,six of Darboe’s fellow inmates have succumbed.

It took a public appeal and online fund raising for Nogoi Njie to be able to seek life-saving treatment abroad.In bitterness at being left in the cold after sacrificing their lives in prison with Darboe while he relentlessly worked on his personal political ambition to their detriment,many switched allegiance to Barrow.

Darboe’s deafening silence in the face of Chinese devastation of the environment in Gunjur while openly accepting political contributions from their Gambian partner Alagie Conteh is telling on what sort of leader he will be.There is no evidence to refute the assumption Darboe is seeking the presidency more for what it means for him than what he could do for The Gambia.

This is an awful attempt at presenting a fundamentally flawed human being as the solution to our problem.If UDP can’t competently produce a documentary on their undeservedly deified leader,I’m afraid they can’t be trusted to run a complex country like Gambia with its complex array of challenges.

NB:Next time UDP geniuses wanna make a documentary,they should come to me bucolic and open-mouthed and I shall teach them till I have nothing more to teach them.It’s my fervent hope I extracted a laugher with that, except UDP folks can always be counted on to be extremely humorless.

Sainey Darboe

Vancouver,Washington,United States

By Amara Thoronka

Though it may sound archaic to nationals of many countries which swapped from marble ballots to paper ballots half a century ago or even older, The Gambia [a highly touristic West African nation with 2.5 million people] is on record as the only country in the world still conducting elections using marbles to cast ballots.

With the marble system, each voter receives a marble and places it in a tube on top of a sealed drum that corresponds to the voter’s favoured candidate. The drums for respective candidates are painted with different colours corresponding to the party affiliation of the candidates and their pictures affixed to their corresponding drums. The system is practically considered to have the advantage of low cost and simplicity both for understanding how to vote and for counting. It also settles the issue of invalid votes which is evident in most paper-ballots-based elections, especially in poor countries with high illiteracy.

Notwithstanding the advantages of the system, there are looming or potential logistical challenges particularly in the forthcoming presidential elections. Because there have been less than five people contesting in Gambia’s presidential election since 1996, each polling station has been having less than five drums.

Just a month to the 4th December 2021 election, there are over 15 presidential candidates vying for the presidency. This means that over 15 drums are anticipated in each of the country’s 1,422 polling stations. Nomination for presidential candidates for the position of President of The Gambia is ongoing and is expected to end on 5th November. Though there are expected coalitions and some independent presidential candidates dropping out of the race, however, Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has on it list 26 candidates going through nomination. If over 15 candidates are to contest for the presidency, it means the IEC would need about 25,000 drums or more to conduct the said elections. This is in addendum to the logistics and transportation challenges in conveying and handling other electoral materials in all polling stations across the country.

This will be logistically challenging for the Commission as getting, keeping and transporting [to and fro] such huge number of drums couple with other sensitive electoral materials has the potential effect of overstretching the Commission.

The prevailing circumstance has presented Gambia with the consideration of reconciling  between opening the democratic space by encouraging people [no matter the number] to participate in presidential, assembly and local council elections on the one hand and making the electoral job less weighty for the IEC on the other hand.

For many pundits and observers, switching from marble ballots to paper ballots is a viable option to widen the democratic space with ease. The paper ballots system can also realise the incorporation of diaspora voting which Gambians residing overseas have been yearning for two decades now. Though the 4th December 2021 elections will be conducted with the marble ballots system, due to huge increase in candidates for Gambia’s presidency, it is anticipated that subsequent elections will embrace the paper ballots system.

It doesn’t take much to understand Jammeh is looking for someone to use to get out of the pit he currently is in. Jammeh wants to break loose from his confirmed fate and is looking for someone to help him do it.

Until October 15, nobody really knew what Jammeh was up to. His role in APRC’s alliance with NPP and this election remained largely unclear. His address on that Friday is what actually gave one an idea.

Jammeh saying he did not approve of the APRC’s alliance with NPP caused a lot of loyal Jammeh supporters to quit. These are the people who make up his No Alliance Movement.

But I believe Fabakary Tombong Jatta that Jammeh was indeed aware of the party’s decision to form an alliance with NPP. Jammeh changed his mind only after realizing he is not coming to the country any time soon.

One thing you must give Jammeh is that you have people who still love him. Even Dodou Jah whom he has fired as one of the ‘traitor’ leaders of APRC still loves him.

Regarding Sheikh Tijan Hydara, he only became a beneficiary of Jammeh’s lunacy, even if briefly. It was a moment of pride for Mr Hydara when Jammeh said he had gone on a winnowing of all the parties and it was only GANU that passed. And no wonder he gave it every commitment and even vowed that he would win.

Yet, Jammeh asking his supporters to rally behind Mr Hydara was huge as it took the soft-spoken Brufut-native to a whole new political level. A man who struggled for support even in his hometown could now sit at the negotiation table.

Yet, Mr Hydara’s new-found political eclat was fleeting. That was confirmed on Friday when Jammeh’s supporters penned a deal with GDC and chose Mamma Kandeh as their flagbearer.

And the fact that Mr Hydara did not show up at the event showed this man is done for this election. Kandeh has overthrown him. And I can only feel sorry for him.

But the lesson is that in politics, one must get a base first before one would be respected.