By Talibeh Hydara
There was disbelief at State House on Saturday as the two candidates of President Barrow’s National Peoples Party in Banjul lost in the National Assembly elections.
The results sent shockwaves across the capital as this is the first time a ruling party lost all seats in the capital since 1982. Barrow’s predecessors, Yahya Jammeh’s APRC never lost a seat in Banjul.
President Barrow was widely expected to consolidate his 2021 election victory by winning the two constituencies his party contested. He won nearly 12,000 out of the 18,677 votes in Banjul in the December presidential election.
However, NPP’s Ousman Wadda lost to incumbent Fatoumatta Njai in Banjul South and Samba Njie lost to UDP’s Modou Lamin Bah in North. The candidate of the PPP coalition partner, Muhammad Ndow, also lost to independent Abdoulie Njai in Central.
The ruling party struggled to win in Banjul, Kanifing Municipality and West Coast Region, managing to secure only Old Yundum.
