The expelled executive member of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction has told Kerr Fatou that the convention which elected President Adama Barrow as the candidate of the United Democratic Party in 2016 was engineered.
Barrow, who later became the coalition candidate, was selected at a convention which was done at the UDP bureau in Banjul by the party’s executive members.
Jarju, who was speaking for the first time after his expulsion from the APRC barely two days ago, said he should have been the UDP presidential candidate for 2016.
Jarju said Barrow never applied to be the candidate of the party. He said it was him and Lamin Darboe who applied for the leadership of the party but both were rejected.
“I would have been the flag bearer for the UDP. Adama did not apply and he later told me that he applied in the morning of the day of the convention. At that time it was late,” argued Bou.
The former UDP man who was expelled from the APRC two days ago blamed the UDP leader Ousainou Darboe for being part of the conspiracy that engineered the election.
Darboe was in jail at the time but Bou said his influence played a significance role in the election of Barrow.
But Bou who came second after Barrow said the election which he called a charade was predetermined.
Barrow contested for the UDP leadership with Bou and Lamin Darboe.
“That was why I left the UDP. I felt that the right thing was not done, democracy was not followed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jarju said he is still member of the APRC, the party that issued a statement expelling him.
He challenged the validity of the decision of the leadership of the party whom he said were never selected through a convention.
“Jammeh (former president Yahya Jammeh) is the leader of the party and Tombong is a nobody. He cannot expel me,” he argued.
Jarju accused Tombong and his executive misusing about 3 million dalasi of funds that should have been used by the party during the past elections.
“The most influential person in APRC that Jammeh talks to in Gambia is MA Bah. He does not talk to Tombong Jatta… Rambo got to get in touch with Jammeh through MA Bah,” said Jarju.
Jarju claimed about 80% of the APRC supporters are in agreement with him.