By Buba Gagigo
President Adama Barrow has said that United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Ousainou Darboe, who he says has lost five elections, should be the one to resign, not him.
“I have a mandate until 2026 to 19th January 2027. The mandate was given to me by the Gambians. I will continue to serve that mandate until it is finished. You have been an opposition for thirty years. You lost five elections; I think you should be the one to resign. Gambians gave me 53%. That’s a landslide victory but is his opinion and I don’t think that is the reality,” president Barrow said.
The president also said the local government election is not an election to decide who to be president and not saying the opposition didn’t win in the election.
“Everyone has his or her opinion, that’s democracy. We started with the presidential election, it was decided by Gambians, and I won a clear victory. I won the parliamentary election because I have more National Assembly Members. I have more Councilors. The Mayor and Chairmen election, they have four and I have four. They didn’t win. This is not an election that can decide who should be president and who should not be president.
“We have seen examples in many countries, they give you the presidency and vote against you in parliamentary. In Cape Verde, the opposition has the majority in the National Assembly, the opposition is the prime minister. In Turkey, all their big cities have oppositions as their mayors. Even in Dakar they have an Opposition as a mayor,” the president said.
President Barrow said the clear indication that the country’s democracy is working and dictatorship no more in the Gambia.
“This shows our democracy is working, it shows there is no dictatorship in the Gambia again and people and decide otherwise. I don’t think his (Darboe) opinion is accurate, but it is his opinion,” he said.
President Barrow also confirmed that Bakary Badjie who contested and lost against Talib Ahmed Bensouda in the Kanifing Municipal Council will continue as a minister at the ministry of Youth and sports.
“We will continue to work. Bakary will continue to be Minister. He had a lot of achievements as minister. Sports have never reached this level. The Gambia qualified to the highest level, we should thank Bakary for that. If election is only work and development, then the opposition wouldn’t get anything. Who will argue about the work we did in Banjul? Elections have a lot of factors, is not only about the work done. If it’s work alone, the work we did, there is no president who worked more than NPP in the Gambia. Even this highway is a good example, the Banjul project. Banjul today there is no Capital in ECOWAS that is paved a hundred percent like Banjul,” president Adama Barrow said.
President Adama Barrow was responding to the United Democratic Party’s leader Ousainu Darbo who called on the president to resign after his Party’s heavy loss in Banjul, KMC, West Coast Region and Lower River Region.