By Omar Bah
The opposition Gambia Democratic Congress youth president, Modou MC Cham Jr has urged the Independent Electoral Commission to stop the Barrow Fan Club from holding political rallies because it is not a political party.
The Barrow Fan Club allegedly held two political rallies recently in Bundung and Tallinding to rally support for President Adama Barrow.
This, according to the GDC Youth President, violates IEC laws because President Barrow has no political party and that his fan club is not registered as a political party either.
“The IEC and the Gambia Police Force should do justice to all other political parties in the country and stop the Barrow Fan Club from organizing political rallies in the name of campaigning for Adama Barrow,” Cham said in a write-up shared with The Standard.
He argued that the Barrow Fan Club is not a registered political party “so why are they allowed to organize rallies and campaign for Barrow when we are not yet in election period?”
“This act is against the IEC’s Electoral Code.
If any other registered political party had organized rally without permit, the police will stop you, so why not Barrow Fan Club, who are not even registered?”
He continued: “There should be equal treatment.
Barrow Fan Club has no authority to organize political rallies hence it is not a registered political party and Barrow has no party”.
The GDC Youth President also accused the Barrow Youth Movement of going around villages and towns claiming to fund development projects by collecting names and phone numbers.
“This practice must stop as they might be using government funds to do so.
If the BYM has anything good to offer for Gambians, it should channel it through the line ministries responsible or government agencies and departments.
“Gambians do not know where their funds are coming from and so there is no transparency in what they are doing,” he concluded.
