The Never Again Network last week launched its “Your Vote, Your Power” campaign with a lively engagement with a group of students at the MDI campus (now Civil Service University) campus in Kanifing. Your Vote, Your Power, is designed to encourage eligible Gambian voters, especially young people, to actively participate in the country’s politics by securing a voter’s card in readiness for the December 2026 presidential elections.
Addressing the students, the Network’s National Coordinator, former TRRC Executive Secretary Dr Baba Galleh Jallow cited widespread non-participation in electoral politics as one of the enablers of the ousted dictatorship of former president Yahya Jammeh. Dr Jallow explained to the students that the campaign was not designed to encourage anyone one to vote for or against any particular political party or candidate, but to explain to eligible voters, especially young people that their active participation matters, that they have the power to determine their future and the future of their country by exercising their civic right and responsibility to vote,
It is common knowledge that many young Gambians are facing a lot of problems and are frequently complaining about the difficulties they face in the country. The Never Again Network believes that one way of addressing these difficulties is by being proactive, securing a voter’s card, and voting for the candidate of their choice in the December 2026 elections. “Your vote is your power,” Dr Jallow said. “Go out there and exercise it.”
The engagement at MDI was particularly lively with students chipping in with interesting questions and comments on issues of transitional justice, youth empowerment and political participation. One of the students, famous Gambian musician Awa Bling, gave a lyrical rendition of her transitional justice song on Never Again, much to the delight of participants. Also present at the engagement was Bubacarr Sambou, the Never Again Network’s National Outreach Coordinator. Mr. Sambou, former Coordinator of the TRRC’s Youth and Children’s Network Unit, answered questions and gave useful insights into the importance of youth empowerment and participation in national development.
Your Vote, Your Power is the Never Again Network’s second outreach campaign since its founding in late 2022. The first, dubbed “The Right to Know” campaign was designed to educate citizens, especially basic and secondary school children on the rights and responsibilities of citizens to hold their government accountable and to highlight the proper relationship between a government and its citizens. Your Vote, Your Power is designed for mature citizens and young adults who are eligible to vote. As part of this second campaign, the Network plans to conduct a series of engagements with youth and community groups, media, civil society, and other stakeholders in the following months with a view to enhancing voter registration, civic empowerment and more robust and informed participation in the country’s electoral politics.
The Never Again Network was founded by a group of former TRRC staff including the Commission’s former Executive Secretary. Its key mandate is to actively participate in and contribute to The Gambia’s transitional justice process by helping ensure non-recurrence of political impunity and human rights violations in the post-TRRC era.
