By Buba Gagigo
Dodou Jah, Deputy Spokesperson of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), has criticized several political parties in The Gambia for not contesting elections, accusing them of violating the country’s electoral laws.
Jah expressed disappointment in the conduct of some political parties, arguing that their failure to participate in elections undermines democracy and the rule of law.“It’s very easy for Political Parties, and I don’t think it should be like that. All established political parties who want to lead the country should be serious, and that is not more than respecting the laws of the country, show you believe in democracy, accept the rule of law, but also practice it. But a lot of people only think of personal interest; a lot of political parties want to form alliances with the ruling party or the opposition for positions. This is the reason a lot of political parties exist in the Gambia. You will never see them put up any candidate during elections,” Jah said.
Reflecting on previous elections, Jah pointed out that most political parties failed to contest all major polls, including local government, ward councilor, parliamentary, mayoral, and presidential elections. He also criticized the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for not holding these parties accountable.
“For example, during the local government election, the ward councilor election, and the parliamentary election too. It is the same with the Mayor/Chairman election and the presidential election too. Why do they exist as political parties? What do they want, and what are they looking for? The law is very clear on what should happen if they don’t contest elections or if they don’t have political bureaus, but it seems like the law is not used. Actions should be taken against such. And If we want to take our politics seriously, or we want to have serious politicians, we should start respecting the laws. And the institution that should put checks and balances is the IEC because all the parties are under them and the law gives them the power to regulate political parties in the country,” he said.
Jah made these remarks during an appearance on Askan Bii, where he discussed the recently concluded by-election in Kiang.