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  |Unique Circumstances of a Maiden Post Dictatorship Presidential Election, the Runners and Its Likely Outcome|   By Pa Louis Sambou    A fter the fall of a ‘strong man’ in former President Jammeh who hamstrung far much more than a fair share of daily life of Gambians including those of public institutions, most Gambians were relieved and thought: ‘never again’. Well, we were wrong. After twenty-two years, public institutions became so accustomed to being kept ‘in line’ through diktat ‘from the top’ rather than through due process, post Jammeh, contrary to public expectation, some of these institutions and figureheads within them increasingly display a worrying lack of regard to the courts. Not even according the judiciary the courtesy of deference. In the build-up to, and over the course of the coming Presidential elections, this lamentable phenomenon has manifested itself in more ways than most would have liked vis-à-vis the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and its response to

      By AMADOU MANJANG  President  Adama Barrow, the presidential candidate for National People’s Party (NPP) has vowed to win the presidential election slated for December 4 th 2021. He advised his supporters to vote peacefully, adding that there is no need to incite violence in the country. He said politics should not divide Gambians ahead of the election. He made these remarks on Wednesday 1 st December 2021, at a rally held at Tallinding, Buffer Zone. “We will win peacefully,” he bragged. President Barrow stated that, he did not want “personal politics” he further described the NPP APRC alliance as a step towards national reconciliation.  T he Gambian leader praised his supporters for their show of solidarity, whilst urging them to come out and vote on election day.  He said the NPP led coalition, is stronger than any opposition party. But critics argued that the alliance has undermines the welfare of the victims of the APRC regime.     The final submitted report of the Truth Re

             Article 19 calls government, others to provide ATI ahead of elections            By Sheriff Saidykhan ARTICLE 19 in collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights (Pretoria) and The Gambia Press Union (GPU) has on Tuesday 30th November 2021 called on the government and politicians to provide proactive disclosure of Access to Information (ATI) ahead of the Presidential election.  The daylong zoom event was anchored on “Enhancing Access to Information during elections in The Gambia” The event held at the Human Rights office in Brusubi, brought together Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s), human rights actors and media practitioners to mitigate strategies for the effective implementation of Access to Information Act.   The objective of the event was to raise awareness on the right of access to information in The Gambia. Bintou Jaiteh, from Article 19 spoke of the importance of Access to Information, in the drive towards engaging citizens’ participation in decision making proc

Lawyer Darboe reminds Kombo North of UDP struggles, calls for change  By Sheriff Saidykhan Ousainou ANM Darboe, the Presidential candidate for the United Democratic Party (UDP) has reminded Gambians of the struggles fought by the party during the repressive rule of former president Yahya Jammeh. Lawyer Darboe described the struggles of the late martyrs of the party saying they fought to liberate the country from the brutal rule of former president Yahya Jammeh.   He made these remarks on Saturday 27 November 2021 at the “ALL KOMBO RALLY” held at Brikama, West Coast Region.   “Many of our members were captured here in Brikama. They tortured them and violated their right for no crime, only because they are supporting UDP” he decried. The veteran human rights lawyer jogged the minds of thousands of supporters during the bitter struggles of the party. He called on supporters of the party to come out in full swing and vote for UDP.                     

Honourable Halifa Sallah Halifa Sallah says Gambians should unite to vote for change   By Amadou Manjang   Halifa Sallah, the presidential candidate for People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), has said that Gambians should unite and vote for change, adding that change cannot happen without unity.   “Gambians have to unite before we can bring change,” he said.   He further said that no one has a vote based on tribe, arguing that every Gambian has an equal vote by virtue of being a Gambian.    “We shall invite and know that we are all equal with one vote” he remarked.   Sallah made these remarks on Friday 26 November 2021 in Bwaim, Foni. Hon. Sallah,  is on the campaign trail ahead of the 4th December presidential elections.   The seasoned politician observed that, the country is still faced with the same problems and issues since independence.   He blamed the previous regimes for their lack of visionary foresight, and failure to register development

      From Left: Honourable Sallah and Essa Faal |  The Robust Fiery Political Exchange Which Simmered Down on a Cool Friendly Closing Note  |    By Pa Louis Sambou   T here is little doubt that the collapse of the former regime’s  vote in 2016 and the subsequent rupture of what was the coalition, precipitated a shift in the techtonic plates of The Gambia’s political landscape in ways never seen before. By all accounts, such state of affairs makes it much more difficult to say with any respectable degree of certainty, how the marbles will land come election day. Naturally, one would expect such uncertainty to generate a spirit of collaboration among opposition parties and candidates, something which has been and perhaps still is a mainstream view within certain quarters. However, as 4 th December draws closer, this logic is increasingly melting out into a myth, albeit still too blissful to let go of by some. In reality, not only is there reluctance for any collaboration among the oppos

GPU-UNOWAS Kick-off training on hate speech for journalists' By Alimatou S Bajinka The Gambia Press Union (GPU) in partnership with the United Nation of West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), and National Democratic Instutute (NDI) converged six days training on “hate speech”.  The training, is divided into three batches slated from Tuesday 23-28  November 2021, held at Sunset Beach Hotel in Kotu. The training, is aimed at building the capacity of journalists' on how to appropriately tackle hate speeches especially during elections. Mr. Emmanuel D. Joof, the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) underscored the importance of the training, adding that hate speeches are rampant on social media platforms, intended primarily to incite violence.  “I emphasis that this training is important, necessary, and timely, if you today scan the social media, the amount of hate speech, unsavoury and bigoted statements, and misinformation that is transmitted is boundless and m