Gambians Deserve Issues, Not Insults

Politics in The Gambia has sunk too low. As the December 5 presidential election draws near, what should be a contest of ideas has become a contest of insults.

Political parties and their surrogates are not selling policies. They are selling personal attacks. Name-calling on Facebook. Character assassination on TikTok. Petty jabs at rallies that draw cheers but offer zero solutions.

This is not politics. This is distraction. And Gambians are tired of it.

The questions facing this country are urgent and serious. Youth unemployment is crushing a generation. The cost of living is rising. Our health system is struggling. Markets are dilapidated. Our roads, water, and electricity remain unreliable for many. The dalasi is under pressure. Farmers need support. Corruption must be confronted.

None of these problems will be solved by calling an opponent a thief, a tribalist, or a failure. None will be solved by digging up old family histories or sharing edited audios.

When Lands Minister Hamat Bah says “someone who can’t govern KMC can’t govern the country,” Gambians should hear more than an insult — they deserve data. What did KMC collect? What did it deliver? What is the national alternative?

When Mayor Talib Bensouda or Lawyer Ousainu Darboe or President Adama Barrow is attacked, voters need more than slogans. They need manifestos. How will you create jobs? Where is the money coming from? What will you do differently in health, education, agriculture and justice?

The Independent Electoral Commission has a role, but political parties have a bigger one. Lead by example. Ban your militants from hate speech. Tell your youth wings that tribal slurs and religious baiting will cost you votes, not win them.

The media also must refuse to amplify insults. Don’t give airtime to politicians who have no policy.

And voters must punish character assassination at the ballot box. On December 5, the question should not be who insulted best. It should be who has the best plan to fix this country.

Issue-based politics is not boring. It is how nations develop. The United States debates taxes. Ghana debates free SHS. Senegal debates industrial policy. The Gambia must debate its future not its personalities.

Enough of the D1,500 politics. Enough of the cooking utensils politics. Enough of dirty KMC versus dirty politics.

Gambia is bigger than any mayor, any minister, any president.

Give us your policies. Spare us your insults.