History Corner
With BY BERRAY SOWE
National Archives of The Gambia
The 1970 Republican Referendum remains one of the defining moments in The Gambia’s post-independence political history, not only because it ushered in the country’s First Republic but also because it exposed an early dispute over media access, political communication and the limits of government authority.
Archival records preserved at the National Archives of The Gambia reveal that, ahead of the referendum, the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government directed that political parties should not be allowed to broadcast political discussions relating to the republican question on Radio Gambia.
The decision was challenged by the opposition United Party (UP), which argued that voters needed access to competing political views to make an informed decision on an issue that would fundamentally alter the country’s constitutional arrangements.
The disagreement placed two principles against each other: the government’s argument that republicanism was a matter of national policy and the opposition’s insistence that democratic choice required an open debate supported by access to the state broadcaster.
More than five decades later, the dispute offers historians and political observers an opportunity to examine the role of the media in The Gambia’s democratic development and the longstanding tensions surrounding state control of political broadcasting.
The republican question
Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, who became Premier following the 1962 general election and later Prime Minister when The Gambia attained internal self-government in 1963, led the country to independence in 1965.
The PPP government made an initial attempt to establish a republican system nine months after independence, when a referendum was held in November 1965.
The proposal failed to secure the required two-thirds majority.
Five years later, the government returned to the republican question.
According to archival material cited in The Gambia Onward Weekly, the second referendum was held between 20 and 23 April 1970. This time, the proposal secured the required two-thirds majority.
Jawara was subsequently inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of The Gambia on 28 April 1970.
The transition from a constitutional monarchy to a republic, however, was contested by the UP, which opposed the proposal during both attempts.
The opposition was expressed not only through political campaigning but also through a challenge to the government’s decision concerning access to Radio Gambia.
Government’s position
Two letters preserved at the National Archives provide evidence of the government’s position.
The first, referenced No. /04N. Vol.2/3 and dated 8 April 1970, was issued by the Information Office in Bathurst under the Ministry of Information Service.
The second letter, referenced RG/04N.Vol.11/4 and dated 14 April 1970, further communicated the decision concerning political broadcasting on the referendum.
According to the archival records, the correspondence was written by S.J.S. Conateh on behalf of the Chief Information and Broadcasting Officer and addressed to the political parties.
The government’s position was that political broadcasting relating to the referendum would not be permitted on Radio Gambia.
The justification was based largely on a distinction between a referendum and a general election.
The government maintained that the republican question was being pursued as a matter of national policy rather than as a partisan political issue.
This distinction formed the central basis of the government’s justification for restricting political broadcasts on the subject.
In the government’s interpretation, the referendum was not simply another political contest between parties. Instead, it concerned the constitutional future of the country and was therefore being treated as a matter of national interest.
UP challenges the restriction
The United Party strongly disagreed with the government’s decision.
In a letter referenced C/019 and dated 20 April 1970, the opposition challenged the restriction on political broadcasting concerning the referendum.
The letter, preserved at the National Archives, argued that the government’s invocation of national policy and national interest should not override democratic principles.
For the UP, citizens had to be given an opportunity to hear different arguments before deciding whether the country should become a republic.
The opposition also questioned what it considered an unequal application of the government’s broadcasting directive.
According to the UP, while opposition parties were prevented from using Radio Gambia to discuss the referendum, PPP rallies at which the republican question was discussed had been broadcast by the same state-owned station.
The opposition therefore accused the government of applying the restriction selectively.
Its challenge was consequently directed at both the principle behind the directive and its implementation.
The UP’s position, as reflected in the archival correspondence, was that equal access to the state media was important to ensuring that voters could make an informed choice.
National policy versus democratic principle
The dispute between the PPP government and the UP illustrates a broader question concerning the role of state-owned media during major political decisions.
On one side was the government’s argument that the republican proposal was a matter of national policy.
On the other was the opposition’s contention that the importance of the referendum made open political debate even more necessary.
The difference in positions was significant.
A general election ordinarily involves competing political parties seeking votes from the electorate. A referendum, by contrast, asks voters to decide on a specific constitutional, legal or policy question.
The PPP government used this distinction to justify its position.
The UP, however, maintained that regardless of the nature of the vote, citizens should be able to hear competing arguments before making their decision.
The disagreement therefore went beyond access to a radio programme.
It raised questions about political equality, freedom of choice, access to information and the responsibilities of a state broadcaster.
The power of Radio Gambia
The significance of the dispute must also be considered in the context of the media environment of the time.
Radio was an important means of reaching citizens across The Gambia, particularly at a time when access to television and other forms of mass communication was limited.
Radio Gambia therefore had considerable influence in communicating political information to the population.
Control over access to the broadcaster could consequently affect the ability of political parties to reach voters.
The UP’s complaint that PPP rallies were being broadcast while opposition broadcasts concerning the referendum were restricted reflected this concern.
The controversy demonstrates that media access was already an important component of political competition in post-independence The Gambia.
It also illustrates how state media could become part of wider political disagreements when questions of national importance were being debated.
Media and electoral processes
The 1970 Republican Referendum provides an early historical example of the relationship between media and electoral processes in The Gambia.
By restricting opposition political broadcasting on the republican question, the government limited one avenue through which the UP could communicate its arguments to the wider electorate.
At the same time, the PPP’s position reflected its understanding that the referendum was fundamentally a government policy question rather than an ordinary partisan contest.
The available archival records document the positions of the two sides but do not, by themselves, resolve the broader question of whether the restriction was justified.
What they do establish is that media access had become a subject of political contestation during one of the most consequential constitutional changes in the country’s history.
The referendum ultimately produced the result sought by the PPP government, with the proposal securing the required majority.
Jawara was subsequently inaugurated as the first President of the First Republic.
A continuing historical debate
The dispute over Radio Gambia in 1970 is significant because it predates many of the contemporary debates about media freedom and political broadcasting in The Gambia.
The records demonstrate that questions about the independence of the media, access to state broadcasting and the balance between national interest and political pluralism have deep roots in the country’s political history.
The arguments presented by the two sides also illustrate different understandings of democracy.
For the PPP government, national policy provided the justification for treating the referendum differently from a general election.
For the UP, democratic principles required voters to have access to competing political arguments, particularly on an issue concerning the country’s constitutional future.
The disagreement therefore remains relevant to the study of democratic institutions and political communication in The Gambia.
Historical significance
The value of these archival records lies partly in their ability to preserve the voices of political actors at a critical moment in the country’s history.
Rather than relying solely on later interpretations of the 1970 referendum, researchers can examine the correspondence between government authorities and the opposition to understand how the controversy unfolded at the time.
The documents also demonstrate the importance of preserving government and political records for future generations.
They provide evidence of how political institutions functioned, how decisions concerning the media were communicated and how opposition parties responded to government policy.
For historians, the Radio Gambia controversy is therefore more than a dispute from more than five decades ago. It forms part of a longer story about the development of political pluralism, media freedom and democratic participation in The Gambia.
Conclusion
The 1970 Republican Referendum marked a decisive constitutional turning point for The Gambia, but the archival evidence surrounding it reveals another important dimension of the country’s history.
The PPP government justified its decision to restrict political broadcasting on Radio Gambia by maintaining that republicanism was a matter of national policy and should not be treated as a partisan political issue.
The opposition UP challenged that position, arguing that national interest should not be separated from democratic principles and that voters needed access to competing political views before making their decision.
The controversy illustrates the central role of the media in democratic processes and shows that debates over political broadcasting and media restrictions are not new to The Gambia.
More than 50 years later, the correspondence preserved at the National Archives provides an important historical reference for understanding the relationship between government, opposition politics and the media.
It also offers a reminder that democratic decision-making depends not only on the act of voting but also on the information available to citizens before they cast their ballots.
The 1970 experience, therefore, remains relevant to discussions about media access, political equality and the responsibility of state broadcasters in supporting an informed electorate.
References
Hughes, A. (n.d.). From Green Uprising to National Reconciliation: People’s Progressive Party in The Gambia, 1959–1993. PUB11/22. National Archives of The Gambia.
Hughes, A. and Perfect, D. (2008). Historical Dictionary of The Gambia. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press.
Hughes, A. and Perfect, D. (2016). A Political History of The Gambia, 1816–1994. Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora. Rochester, New York: University of Rochester Press.
The Gambia Onward Weekly, 24 April 1971. National Archives of The Gambia, reference NGP8/2.