By Omar Bah
US-based Gambian political commentator and human rights activist, Basamba Njol Drammeh, has said any attempts to pressure President Adama Barrow against contesting for a third term will be illegal.
There have been growing calls for Mr Barrow not to seek a third term.
Last week, the chairman of the Brikama Area Council, Yankuba Darboe, told UDP supporters in Spain that Gambians should put pressure on Mr. Barrow not to contest in 2026.
But commenting on the matter in a Standard exclusive, Mr Drammeh said: “Any attempt to pressure Mr Barrow against contesting for a third term will be unconstitutional and detrimental to the peace and security of this country. It should also be clear that the coalition government was not a Barrow or NPP government.”
“That was a coalition of political parties with different political and development agendas. The NPP and Barrow’s term, as far as I am concerned, started in 2021, and 2026 will be his second term. Even the Three Years Coalition agreement, which some Gambians are blaming Mr Barrow for refusing to honor, was first disregarded by the UDP because it was the UDP’s Amadou Sanneh, the finance minister at the time, who prepared the five-year development plan that gave birth to the Brussels donor conference,” he argued.
Commenting on self-perpetuation, Drammeh said former president Yahya Jammeh didn’t willingly stay in power for 22 years. “It was the Gambian people who voted for him, and when they felt it was enough, they voted him out, so if the opposition wants to remove Mr. Barrow, they must do it through the ballot box.”
2026 election
Mr. Drammeh urged all Gambians and prospective presidential candidates to approach the 2026 campaign and election with care and total patriotism.
“In the Gambian electoral system, we can have ten or more candidates, but only one person can emerge victorious. We must not allow our indifferences to control our emotions as a people. I also urge the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to remain impartial and prevail on political parties to ensure they send representatives to all polling stations to avoid any suspicions,” he said.
