Gambia’s Opposition Darboe Optimistic Of 2016 Victory
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Tags: Gambia, Ousainou Darboe, Yahya Jammeh
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The leader of the Gambia’s main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, has expressed optimism about the prospect of flushing out the APRC government of President Yahya Jammeh in next year’s presidential election.
Mr Darboe, who has just completed a ten-day country-wide tour during which he laid out his vision for the country, said he was encouraged by the boldness of Gambians to speak out openly about the failures and betrayal of the Jammeh regime.
“One important outcome of our tour has been the total unmasking of the fear factor that has encompassed the life of ordinary Gambians,” he said.
“Within ten days of our nationwide-tour, the vast majority of the Gambian people mustered courage and spoke out openly against a government that has institutionalised corruption, betrayed the confidence of its people, continues to use deception to divide people through narrow fault lines of tribe and religion and continually ignoring the plight of our farmers and youths.”
He added: “Throughout the tour, the once cowed people of the Gambia have demonstrated remarkable courage in speaking their minds about the archaic policies of the APRC. It is now clear that the overwhelming majority of Gambians want change and the UDP as a party, promise to continue to stand by the people of the Gambia in achieving this singular goal through democratic means.
Mr Darboe said due to the failures of Mr Jammeh and his government, the Gambia is today engulfed in economic hardship with no end in sight.
“Farmers’ produce, particularly groundnut which is the mainstay of the economy is under utilise and not catered for,” the veteran human rights lawyer added.
“The cream of our country’s future, the youths, are now fleeing the Gambia in their numbers using the “back way” to reach Europe. But in reality many are perishing in the high seas of the Mediterranean where ship wreckages have become their watery graves. Our women continue to die from unsafe child labour while children continue to die from preventable diseases thanks to a crumbled health system where the basics of drugs are, in most cases, unavailable.”
