Gambians must ignore politicians who tell them that if a certain political party wins elections, they will be sent away. This narrative is false, dangerous and unworthy of a democracy.
For years, some politicians have weaponised fear for votes. They go into communities and disrespectfully tell certain Gambian tribes, that their safety depends on the survival of one regime. They tell them: if a certain opposition wins, you will be expelled. It is a lie designed to manufacture loyalty through terror.
It must be called what it is: political blackmail.
The Gambia is not owned by any party or tribe. The Constitution is clear. The right to reside and live in peace is governed by law, not by the whims of a president or a party chairman. No political party can lawfully deport an entire community because they did not vote for it. Ecowas protocols guarantee free movement and residence. Our own laws provide due process. This country has never, and will never, expel law-abiding people on the basis of an election result or ethnicity.
Those who peddle this threat insult the intelligence of Gambians and non-Gambians alike. They assume our guests do not understand democracy. They assume Gambians do not understand coexistence.
A politician who cannot campaign on his record on agriculture, on jobs, on the cost of living, on corruption, will campaign on fear. He cannot show you what he built, so he tells you what his opponent will destroy. He cannot earn your vote, so he tries to steal the vote of a frightened foreign national.
This tactic creates anxiety in markets and neighbourhoods. It poisons relations between Gambians and the very people who contribute to our economy as traders, farmers, artisans and workers. It tarnishes The Gambia’s reputation as a tolerant, peaceful nation.
We urge all Gambians and residents to reject it completely.
Ask the politician who tells you this: Where is the law that allows mass expulsion? Where is the precedent?
The December election will be decided by Gambians, on issues that matter to Gambians. Not even foreign residents are pawns to be frightened into political errands. Their safety is guaranteed by the Constitution and by the Gambian people, regardless of which party wins.
Do not vote out of fear. Do not act out of fear. Ignore the merchants of deportation. The Gambia belongs to all who live in it peacefully and lawfully, today and after the elections.
