By Oumie Mendy
The much-anticipated hot contest in the KM mayoral election is already gathering steam following Sports Minister Bakary Badjie’s hint that he may run for the NPP against Mayor Talib Bensouda of the UDP.
On Monday, MC Cham Jr, the campaign manager of the GDC, stated that Badjie would commit a political suicide if he decides to challenge Talib.
In response, Matarr Saine, the mobilizer general of Team Bakary Badjie, a group which has remained intact since Badjie’s first attempt to be mayor in the 2018 elections, has dismissed Mr Cham’s comments as idle talk.
Mr Saine said instead of busying himself in endorsing candidates of other political parties, MC Cham should try to rebuild the tattered image of his own GDC where he is campaign manager.
He added that if there is anybody who can beat Talib, that is Bakary Badjie. “He has a very good chance of beating Mayor Talib Bensouda,” Saine said.
He said Minister Badjie will be committing no political suicide if he decides to contest for the KM mayoral seat.
Saine revealed that “Team Bakary Badjie endorsed President Adama Barrow since 2019, at a time when no one anticipated Bakary to be minister or candidate for the NPP. So, I want people to know that President Barrow appointed Bakary Badjie based on his competence and if he wants him to contest for mayor of KM, what is wrong with that?” he said.
He said good politicians are known to be consistent.
“When Bakary was contesting as an independent candidate in the 2018 local government elections, he resigned from a well-paid job to come and serve the interest of Gambians and despite contesting as independent candidate, he did extremely well. With the backing of the NPP that can only be better,” he said.
