By Adama Makasuba
Dr Ismaila Ceesay, leader of Citizens’ Alliance party has urged Gambian electorates not to base their vote casting for the next president on emotion.
Dr Ceesay’s advice comes after his nomination got rejected by the Independent Electoral Commission which his CA party vowed to challenge with appeal.
“We have brilliant candidates. Let’s not vote [based on emotion] you see the problem is not the leaders, is how we elect the leaders. If you elect leaders based on emotions then it won’t work,” he advised.
“You see when you choose leaders based on emotions then there is a problem. We’ve been choosing leaders based on emotions. Jawara’s era was a bit different the current generation never had a chance in an open free and fair election to elect their leader. We all know what happened in 1994, we didn’t elect Yahya Jammeh as a president. In 2016 it was emotions, we didn’t even listen to President Barrow, he was telling us clearly that: I cannot do this job,” he added.
“I think what’s important for The Gambia is… we are at a crossroad. I think now anybody who wins this election should build this country. Supporting someone does not mean you being in his government, it is about encouraging him, it is about advising [him], it is about critiquing, it is about saying good things [about his government].
“People are very tired; people are suffering in this country on a daily basis. The country is having problems [and I think this is our chance. For me, let the best candidate win, let the people decide whoever wins, believe me,” he stated.
About 900,000 Gambian electorates will head to the polls to elect their next new leader who will lead the country for another five-year term. The December election will serve as the first democratic election since the ouster of former President Yahya Jammeh in 2016.