With the presidential elections now history, the National Assembly elections are speeding towards another catastrophic opposition defeat.
In the short space of three years, a new party, turned into a political juggernaut is about to steamroll everything in its path. Requiems for Gambia’s political parties are coming to spell doom to the democracy citizens’ desire. The NPP is about to consume the Gambia’s opposition parties, and thus imperial our fledging democracy.
Pain from the looming hurt is more likely than not to emanate from the National Assembly. For, ever so slowly, Adama Barrow will most likely coerce significant political power, enough to emasculate the Assembly, & get them to do whatever pleases him. It’ll no longer matters that the National Assembly, the people’s House, as an institution, has superior power to the Executive. What’s clear from the recent elections is that Gambians, by and large, are more motivated by self-interest than philosophical conviction.
Thus; the mad dash towards the NPP has only just begun, and with it, the tools to bring balance to democracy citizens yearn to build. There is no mystery in the way the NPP party won the elections so decisively; time, resources & long-term planning to assemble a constellation of interests, as the party’s base. And it worked. Thus; NPP is the first political party not to emerge with a tribal slant.
Gambians who didn’t, up to this point, may now as well eulogise Yahya Jammeh & his APRC. The party is now as good as dead. The loud noise may still remain, but the miracle has left. Finally, Adama Barrow and the Gambia will soon converged on a critical, & potentially dangerous intersection, where Barrow may be tempted to exercise raw power, disregarding the law. This is both an awakening and a warning; for we’ll never shy away from defending democracy. It’s every citizen’s obligation to do so.
The Constitution has created three institutions; totally independent of each other, yet working in tandem to achieve the same goal of a peaceful and prosperous Gambia; National Assembly, the Judiciary and the Executive.
Mathew K Jallow
