By Omar Bah
The leader of the Gambia Democratic Congress Mamma Kandeh has said that his candidature in last December’s presidential election contributed immensely to the defeat of former President Jammeh.
Kandeh made these remarks in France where he is visiting as part of his European tour.
Addressing supporters in Paris, Kandeh said: “The talk in town that the GDC is supported by Jammeh is nonsense, because if that is the case then Jammeh must have been a fool because I am the one who defeated him. If there was no GDC, Jammeh would have been President as we speak now.”
On why he did not join the coalition, Kandeh said: “My decision was not because I am selfish but it was because I knew very well prior to the Convention that everything was premeditated and calculated.”
He said although President Barrow was the least experienced among the candidates contesting for the leadership of the coalition, he went on to win “because even the other so-called party representatives were UDP supporters.”
He alleged that the outcome of the Coalition convention was decided well before the convention. “We were aware of everything going on, that’s why we decided to pull out and stand alone because we knew it was not going to be transparent,” Kandeh alleged.
He added: “If I was selfish I would have just jumped and joined Jammeh to reject the election results and if I had done that at that material time, it would have been very controversial and confusing but I knew the truth and defended it to the last minute,” he said.
