Five political parties and one independent candidate that backed President Adama Barrow’s candidature in the December 2, 2016, presidential election has endorsed President Barrow’s mandate to serve for five years.
This approval was disclosed on Friday by Coalition 2016 chairperson and former vice president Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajang.
In 2016, eight political parties namely; United Democratic Party (UDP), People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), National Reconciliation Party (NRP), Gambia Moral Congress (GMC), National Convention Party (NCP), Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress (GPDP) and Dr. Isatou Touray, the independent candidate and current Gambian vice president, agreed to back President Barrow’s candidature.
The Voice reports the Coalition members agreed to a three year mandate, but was not officially approved but went ahead to back President Barrow as an independent candidate and he defeated ex-President Yahya Jammeh with 227,708 representing 43.3% of the votest cast. Jammeh scored 208,487, representing 39.6%.
The Coalition agreed to the 3 years verbally for transitional reform leading the way for President, but in the Gambia Constitution the serving mandate of the president is 5 years.
“We (Coalition Stakeholders) have agreed today Friday to extend the mandate of President Adama Barrow from 3 years to 5 years. We came to the decision so that the president and the government can have the opportunity to finish the various reforms processes sponsored by partners namely, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), European Union, and African Union among others. It is the president’s social legitimacy to finish these reform processes that are currently going on in the country,” Jallow-Tambajang said.
She urged Gambians to come together and allow the completion of these reform processes.
“This government started the journey in a very difficult situation, there was nothing in the coffers and it has to run helter shelter to look for funding in order to start this reform processes that are already on,” she noted.
Former vice President Jallow-Tambajang also revealed that all the Coalition 2016 Stakeholders attended the meeting with three representatives from each political party.
She disclosed that the UDP and the PDOIS boycotted the session, revealing that the two parties had in 2018 expressed their withdrawal from the Coalition 2016 and also from all discussion.
There has been a growing pressure calling on President Adama Barrow to step down in December, and a group known as 3 years Jotna (meaning 3 years has reach) is leading the campaign.
However, Jallow-Tambajang said that 3 years Jotna movement members will be engaged in the national quest to maintain peace, unity and understanding.
The growing fear in the country is that December will be characterized with protests to be organize by the members of the 3 Years Jotna movement.