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  WORRYING CONCERNS ABOUT STATEMENTS MADE BY HE PRESIDENT ADAMA BARROW AND THE UDP LEADER AND FLAG BEARER OUSAINOU DAROBOE DURING THEIR POLITICAL RALLIES/CAMPAIGNS The NHRC is extremely concerned about the statements uttered by President Adama Barrow at his recent political campaign in Farafenni when he seemingly took pride in the use of tear gas by the paramilitary unit of the Gambia Police Force to forceful dispersal a protest of the Three Years Jotna movement.  In that same vein, the NHRC is equally perturbed by the remarks of  Mr Ousainou Darboe, the UDP leader and presidential aspirant, to the President’s reference to him as the “CEO” of the 3 Year Jotna Movement by threatening to “ destroy” the President  Such statements by political l...

By Sheriff Saidykhan In a statement released by the Gambia Transport Union, they urged politicians to ensure compliance with traffic laws and regulations. The statement reads: “The General Transport Union wishes to remind all drivers hired for the purpose of political campaign to constantly ensure they adhere to Traffic Laws and Regulations, particularly regarding the manner in which passengers are carried during the campaign. It is deeply concerning and utterly worrying that, people are left hanging on open doors of running vehicles, in certain instances many are left seated on top of vehicles without any protection, while others are left clinging on the back of vehicles; all in insecure  manners. This precarious situation if left unaddressed has potential to cause serious Road Traffic Accidents which may lead to loss of lives and severe injuries. In this regard, the executive of the General Transport Union wishes to solicit the cooperation of party leaders, independent ca...

Sheriff Saidykhan In a press conference yesterday, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, party leader and flagbearer of the Citizens’ Alliance (CA) confirmed that lawyers for his party have “already issued proceedings against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)”. Speaking to journalists from the party’s headquarters in Kanifing Estate, a calm and collected Dr Ceesay details that the lawsuit against the IEC is “scheduled to be heard on Tuesday 16th November 2021 at the High Court in Banjul”. The CA leader did not offer any in-depth details about the case but highly placed sources have informed this medium that the Chief Justice, Hassan  Jallow “has reserved the case to himself” which makes this high profile and unprecedented suit all the more interesting.  It could be recalled that on Saturday 7th November 2021, Dr. Ceesay was among one of over a dozen Presidential aspirants who had their nominations for the presidential elections scheduled for 4th December 2021 rejected. A numb...

By Alimatou S  Bajinka   P eace Ambassadors the Gambia (PAG) in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI)  has recently completed an overall report on their findings and observations of the nomination process of candidates, ahead of the December 4th Presidential election at a presser briefing held at its main Office in Kanifing.     Bubacarr Sambou, President Peace Ambassadors The Gambia said Peace Ambassadors deployed an observer to observe the political candidates during nomination process and public scrutiny during the 8 days period, from the 30th October to November 6th at the IEC headquarters in kanifing.    “Our observer was permitted by the IEC to observe the submission of nomination papers by aspirants, he was only given 5 minutes to go through all the files of over 20 aspirations who submitted their nomination papers. Therefore observation findings only generally comprise the submission procedures and the general environmen...

  |The Tricky Business of Relying on Military Junta Decrees to Organise Democratic Elections in a Post Dictatorship Era| B y Pa Louis Sambou   F or anyone who’s had to await decision on something which meant a lot to them and into which they invested so much: whether the outcome of a job application, publication of exam results or perhaps that maiden travel visa, the agony endured by the long list of President aspirants on Saturday 6 th  November 2021 must have felt familiar. For candidates to whom unfulfilled notices of outstanding information were issued upon presenting themselves for nomination at the Independent Electoral Commission (the IEC), it is fair to say that their disqualifications would have already been obvious to them once nominations closed on 5 th  November. So one could, with a degree of certainty say that the latter category of aspirants were probably not sat in front of the television screen waiting in anguish. For all others, the question as to w...

|We should be easing, not unduly heightening pre-election tension|   By Pa Louis Sambou    A s the Presidential election nears, section 62 of the Constitution appears to be attracting unprecedented level of interest, the likes of which we’ve never seen in any previous election in the lifetime of the Constitution. This provision, which details the qualification and disqualification rules as regards candidates for presidential elections appears to occupy an unusual mainstream position in political discourse among the electorate, more than even the candidates’ manifestos. For such a dull subject, one wonders whether the high interest it arouses over and beyond other issues points to the underwhelming nature of what it is that the candidates have got to offer or, whether such is attributed to sinister issues which are so far, much less obvious to pinpoint than the aforementioned. If the latter turns out to be the driver of such unusual public interest in section 62, then such...

|A Classic Example of Mercenary Diplomacy and How Not to Conduct International Relations|   By Pa Louis Sambou    W ith Presidential elections barely two months away, visa restriction measures imposed against The Gambia, for the government’s failure to cooperate with the EU’s deportation regime as was confirmed in a recent  press statement by the European Commission  could not have come at a more critical time. For the special interest opposition for whom accusing the government of facilitating deportations served a rewarding political weapon of choice, this development slams shut such an otherwise useful misinformation gateway. To do justice to other opponents of this government whose opposition is premised on principled disagreement, it is fair to qualify what I meant by ‘special interest opposition’ being those former political associates of the President whom are in opposition today against their will, not because of any principled conviction but rather, bec...