Alagie Manneh
Former information minister Seedy Njie, now a supporter of President Adama Barrow’s National Peoples Party, has predicted a landslide victory for the party in the upcoming Niamina West by-election.
The Niamina West parliamentary seat became vacant following the death of sitting MP, Demba Sowe of GDC, who died in January this year.
The Independent Electoral Commission has announced it will conduct the election next month following a long delay forced by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Njie told The Standard that the NPP is well prepared for the election slated for November 7. “We are currently processing a lot of applications. So far, 12 applications have been received and from them, we will come up with our candidate. But we want a candidate that will represent the views, choice and concerns of the people of Niamina West. The NPP has concluded all preparations and consultations with regional and other respective committees,” he said.
Mr Njie said parties that have aligned themselves with the NPP, are going to work to ensure the party’s victory in the election. “We are going to work with all of them – NRP, GPDP and NCP. These are our partners,” he explained.
He said contrary to what political observers have peddled, NPP has a base in Niamina. “We have done our groundwork, and have assessed our prospects. We [NPP] will emerge victorious. Based on our assessment, I can safely say we are the biggest party in the country. There is infrastructural development across the country, and the president’s good governance and desire to promote a democratic dispensation based on the rule of law has made him a unifying figure among Gambians. They [Gambians] would not want to exchange him for any other individual,” Njie said.
Mr Njie also refuted claims that the president has been politicising state events.
He said: “It is people who are scared of the president’s growing popularity who make such statements. The truth is, presidents around the world, once they moved out of their palaces, it is only natural that people take ownership of them. People take ownership of Barrow because of his excellent work. If anybody has a problem with that, you must think twice,” he said.
According to him, Gambians are aware now and will no longer accept the “politics of deception, or tribalism”
