The People of the West African State of the Gambia goes to the polls today Thursday December 1st, 2016. The highly contested elections in this small African nation just witnessed an unprecedented end to a peaceful campaign with historic massive participation by its citizens from all four corners of the country. The campaign though attracting hundreds of thousands of Gambians is largely peaceful during active campaign period with little to no reports of violence or confrontation between supporters. The opposition reportedly played a huge role in avoiding the ruling party convoys to prevent a repeat of the 1996 election violence clashes which claimed some lives.
Three candidates are contesting this year’s Presidential elections; The incumbent Yahya Jammeh of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) who has been in power for 22 years is contesting for the 5th term in office. The opposition coalition candidate Adama Barrow representing 7 political Parties and an independent candidate, is running on an Independent ticket after winning a primary that was contested by 4 other party presidential contenders. The third candidate is Mama Kandeh of the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) who is representing a newly formed opposition party. Kandeh, who used to be a member of Parliament in the ruling APRC for 10 years refused to join other opposition parties to contest with a unified ticket against the incumbent.
All indications are that this is so far the most fiercely contested elections in the history of the Gambia since the country attained it’s independence from British colonial rule in 1965. The hottest contest came after 22 years of APRC government rule under Yahya Jammeh described as a heavy handed regime which has consistently violated basic human rights of Gambian citizens; stifle the press and crack down on political opponents. The Gambian electorates who have largely voted for the incumbent for the past three election cycles appears to have had enough of the political oppression and are determined to change the path the country has been on.
Political pundits and close observers indicated that the Coalition candidate Adama Barrow by virtue of the massive crowds seen during the opposition coalition campaign throughout the country is likely to win the votes. The other opposition candidate Mama Kandeh of the GDC and his supporters also claimed that he has attracted large crowds and is likely to take votes from the ruling APRC which they claimed gives them the chance to win the elections. The incumbent Yahya Jammeh on the other hand was very much measured during this campaign to the voters departing from his two decades of threatening voters for voting against him instead of appealing for their votes. This time Jammeh was heard several times calling for his supporters to be peaceful and to give him another mandate.
Gambia’s international partners and rights groups have in the past described Gambian elections as “not free and fair” because the incumbent has issued threats, intimidation and uneven playing field during campaigns leading to the elections. The regional group ECOWAS boycotted the last elections in 2011 and has been refused access to monitor the elections this year as well. The EU and the African Union have also been denied access to the country by the ruling party to monitor the elections. This has left almost no international agencies from monitoring the elections which raises concerns to Gambian citizens and partners around the world.
Gambian Diaspora consisting of thousands of Gambians across the world though disenfranchised from voting or participating in the country’s Democratic process, refused to be sidelined this year. They made sure that their voices are heard loud and clear by mobilizing resources to support the coalition candidate and also engage in massive voter sensitization through social media and online radio broadcasting. The Diaspora is reported to have contributed more than 5 million Gambian Dalasis ( $150,000) towards the campaign. This has become very handy for the opposition coalition who often have meager resources to fund their campaigns. The Gambian people particularly those in the Diaspora are optimistic that the people will vote for change during this elections.
Many Gambians are skeptical that the Gambian leader whose government has committed several crimes against citizens will in fact peacefully hand over power after losing the votes. However, others are optimistic that no matter what happens during this elections the Gambian people have sent a loud and clear message to the government that they are not to be taken for granted any longer. As alleged reports of international communication lines being interrupted during this election day, Gambian diaspora have identified alternative social media access to ensure that information about the elections and counting of votes gets out to the International community. The Gambia is in fact the only country which uses Marbles as tokens to vote which is more susceptible to fraud as marbles can be stocked in ballot boxes. However, the Independent electoral council (IEC) whose members are appointed by the ruling party are confident that the ‘on the spot vote counting’ this year will prevent any kind of votes rigging. This has given the opposition little more confident that they will win the elections if the votes are counted accordingly. As we go to press, the Gambian people are nervous but optimistic that the elections will be conducted peacefully and that the results will represent the will of the people and be respected by both sides.
Report compiled by Demba Baldeh Associate editor
1 Comment
Gambians, its now or never, make-or-break our country. This is the defining moment. The old and the young, the strong and the weak, lets come out en masse and mould The Gambia we want for ourselves and our future generations. A second liberation warfare! Come one, come all! Its bare knuckles.