By: Binta Jaiteh
Youth President of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Hajie Suwaneh has called on President Adama Barrow to quit office amid growing frustration among citizens.
Mr. Suwaneh made the call during an interview with The Voice Newspaper and at the same time expressed frustration over what he called rampant corruption and mismanagement of public funds.
According to him, the country is facing challenges and the government is not finding solutions to address them.
He quoted a supporter of the ruling National People’s Party as saying that anybody who said President Barrow should step down, that person would be killed like a dog. Suwaneh point out that such remarks were sad and worrying.
“What kind of message is that? Those words are dangerous and worrying. At this time of elections such words should be a concern,” he remarked.
Suwaneh also disclosed that some Gambians protested against the overseas issuance of Gambian National ID Cards and some people thought that was targeting tribes and ethnicity. “We will never target or reject any tribe but the integrity of our national documents must be jealously protected by all patriotic citizens of all tribes because we form The Gambia,” he reiterated.
He also raised questions as to why Mali was allegedly deporting Gambians. According to him, Gambians are facing nightmare at the borders of neighbouring countries and asks if Barrow Government is aware of the problems faced by citizens.
He disclosed that Gambian ID holders were being charged to pay 10,000 CFA at the Senegalese border with Mali. “Due to his lack of foresight and vision, Gambians are severely paying the price at the borders of Mali and Senegal. The earlier we stand against Barrow the better for ourselves,” he warned.
Suwaneh also demanded the data of the 28,000 missing supplementary voter registration stressing that the integrity of the electoral process was undermined or compromised like previous elections.
The youth president argued that keeping the data away from public scrutiny was an indication of unfairness, lack of transparency and a root to electoral malpractice.