Barely a month after two sitting national assembly members of Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) defected to President Adama Barrow’s National People’s Party, GDC leader Mamma Kandeh described the defections as lesson for all and warned his party will place down stringent policies for anyone who would want contest under it ticket.
MP for Jakadou Salifu Jawo and MP for Jarra Kebba Jallow last year cross defected to National People’s Party and claimed that their moved was based on national interest.
Mr Kandeh and President Barrow has been political rival for nearly a decade following their 2007 parliamentary election in Jamara where the duo hails from. They are age mate as well.
“It is hard for someone to contest under a political party ticket, you sponsor him, you pay his campaign fees and you campaign for him until he wins and turn and betray you and join someone who he was contesting with. And left to him with that person he wouldn’t have become an MP.
“But it’s a lesson and we are all learning. And I think next time we will come with our policies [that] anyone who is contesting under the party ticket [there] will be something we will agree with you,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said he is not moved by their defection describing what he called is their right because they came from political parties and they have rights to go to other political parties.
“The party is in the hands of the supporters and those supporters are increasing every day. We have 100s of people coming to join the GDC every day,” he said.
He warned other political parties receiving the defectors to be careful of them saying because those were the people who were making sweet words about their old political parties and had now decided to paint bad image on that party.
He said he doesn’t want talk about people defected from his party to other political parties “because at least I had a good relation with them at one time.”
