The Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice registers with grave concern the remarks by Pres. Adama Barrow that he would be “president until he is ready and then hand over the presidency to his children, who in turn when they are ready would hand over to his grandchildren.”
We find this statement to be utterly inappropriate that undermines the democratic and constitutional setup of the Gambia as a multiparty democratic republic. The 1997 Constitution provides under Section 39 that it is citizens who elect a president. Further, Section 63 establishes the term of the president to be five years who is elected by registered Gambian voters.
There is no provision in our Constitution that allows or empowers a president to hand over the presidency to his child or grandchild. Hence no amount of politicking or excitement warrants or justifies for a president to speak in those terms. Rather, the President must be seen and heard fulfilling his oath of office and defense of the Constitution as stipulated in Section 61(2).
In this regard, EF Small Centre hereby calls on the President Adama Barrow to immediately withdraw his unconstitutional and undemocratic remarks he made in a rally in Basse. While nothing stops a child or grandchild of the President from contesting elections, there is no law or power that the President has to hand over the Office of the President to anyone, more so to his family members. The Gambia is neither a monarchy nor a one-party dictatorship.
We therefore alert the Independent Electoral Commission to exercise their authority as per the Elections Act to hold the President accountable that his political speeches must not violate the Constitution and the norms of multiparty democracy.
Similarly, we call on all political parties including the NPP as well as the National Assembly, CSOs and indeed all citizens to demand the President withdraw his ill-informed and anti-democratic remarks. We wish to call on Pres. Barrow to henceforth refrain from making remarks that counter the tenets and standards of the Constitution and Democracy.
EF Small Centre hereby expresses its resolve to stand guard for the Constitution and the Republic by exposing and holding accountable anyone who wishes to undermine or threaten constitutionalism and democracy in the Gambia.
In The Spirit of Edward Francis Small, For The Gambia Our Homeland
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Madi Jobarteh