By Omar Bah
The United Democratic Party leader, Ousainu Darboe has called on his party supporters to remain decent and avoid insulting or intimidating their opponents.
Addressing his party supporters in Wisconsin, United States during a launch of a new UDP Chapter in the City via telephone, the former vice president urged all UDP supporters both home and in the diaspora to abstain from insulting and caricaturing their opponents.
“You cannot really intimidate people and expect them to support you.
That is not UDP.
The UDP has always taken the position that its ideas are superior to the ideas of its opponents and we have always engaged them to convince them that ours is the right position,” he said.
Darboe said what the country really needs “is to engage in discussion that addresses issues.
“We want to make sure that our discussions are issues driven and those of you who use social media platforms, please sell the agenda of the UDP decently.
I am very hopeful that the newly launched chapter will certainly be very active in the recruitment of membership and fundraising for the party, because the party needs funding to ensure the successful running of its affairs back home,” he observed.
Tombong Saidy, who represented the UDP at the event, thanked the party supporters in Wisconsin and urged them to be steadfast and loyal to the party.
“UDP is the only political party that can alleviate Gambians from suffering.
A UDP government will have chapters all over the United States before the next presidential election,” he added.
Lamin Keita, a Gambian PhD student at the Northwestern University in the US and the chairman of the Chapter, said there is no cause for pride in what has happened in Gambia.
“There is no cause for self-satisfaction in the long denial of equal rights of thousands of Gambians. But there is cause for hope and faith in our democracy in what is happening here tonight.
For the cries of pain and the suffering and protests of oppressed people have summoned and say never again.
There is no tribal, ethnic or regional problem…There is only a Gambian problem which we should all fix together,” he said.
He said the UDP can offer opportunities, education and hope to all Gambians.
“The enemies of our country are poverty, ignorance and decease. But even if we elect a UDP government, the battle will not be over”.
