In a democracy, every election is a learning process. You learn from the one you lose and the one you win, and then prepare for the next one. I venture to suggest that patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotions but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. Losing an election cannot and should not relent any person or persons from continuing the struggle to see the changes he/she wants to be effected.
The incumbent may have won the presidential election and the executive branch of the government to himself but he is yet to win the entire government to himself. Today, more than ever we need a well-united opposition front to join hands together in securing a greater number of seats in the National Assembly in the coming parliamentary election. We are only strong as we are united, weak as we are divided.
The national assembly elections are equally important if not even more important as that of the presidential. Section 100 of the 1997 constitution states "The legislative power of The Gambia shall be exercised by Bills passed by The National Assembly and assented to by the President." In that regard, it should be incumbent on all the opposition parties to see to it that the ruling party does not secure the majority of the seats in the national assembly, because the consequences of that may be highly detrimental especially in the oversight and accountability functions of the national assembly.
All the opposition parties must have now realized the power of the incumbent. So, we expect them not to continue to persuade their individual party goals but to reason together and build a formidable united front to take on the President in the national assembly election. To be able to hold the government accountable, keep them serving in the interest of the people and within the confines of the constitution is by having a very diversified national assembly to be able to avoid having a rubber stamp of the executive.
We choose the democratic system of governance, it's therefore paramount for us to try to uphold the fundamental pillars of democracy. Already as a nation, the people have chosen their representative in macro-matters and in few months, they will choose their representatives who shall be responsible for passing bills that should be in their interest and serve as an oversight body to the executive. Only if the people know the powers vested in them, this government can be directed in serving their interests by electing people with the requisite knowledge to represent them in the national assembly, not people who can be receiving brown envelopes from the executive power and keeps on ignoring the suffering of the people who are paying their salaries.
Again, political parties should mind the types of people standing under their tickets. It has been a norm in the Gambia that parties allow some of their members who have no requisite knowledge in representation to stand under their tickets just on the basis that the individual has been a party member for a long time and not factoring the task ahead of him/her. That needs to stop. We can’t afford at this generation of ours to be having representatives who cannot exercise the powers vested in them by the electorate without fear or favour or being the rubber stamp of the executive, representatives who will be collecting brown envelopes in passing or trashing out of bills at the pleasure of the presidency.
Looking at our history in terms of national assembly elections, the people voted for parties and not the individuals contesting, especially the incumbent’s party or the party he associates himself to. The members' requisite qualifications and knowledge base are never been put to test and I think it's high time we woke up from this serious mistake because the failure of all our governments in the past is not just settled in the hands of the presidents that presides over them but highly been contributed by the type of national assembly we have.
Judging from the recent past, immediately from the swearing-in of president barrow in 2017, we couldn’t have a vice president but most of our national assembly members helped the executive to amend the constitution through a wrongful process to satisfy an individual, the 2020 draft constitution failed because most of the members chose to side with President Barrow and not the verdict of the people, some of them collected vehicles from the executive whose origin and means of the acquisition were never been stated from the start and thereby nurturing corruption practices, some passed private member’s bill to grant themselves a D54 million loan, etc. It's high time we moved on as a nation of conscience people and stop playing the cards of most of these selfish politicians. Know the pre-elections curriculum vitae of your favourite candidate before you cast your vote or surrender your precious destiny to him/her voluntarily.
As April is getting closer for us to return to the polls, I urge every Gambian to maintain the already existing peaceful atmosphere and match to the polls and vote for their choice peacefully as was demonstrated during the presidential election. I pray that the best men and women with the best interest of the country at heart win to become our representatives and for those who do not have the country’s best interest at heart and will not work in the interest of the people, may they fail warfully.
By Ousman L Camara
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