Darboe:APRC knew UDP was cancer to its demise

According to the secretary general of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, the then APRC government could not stand UDP because they knew the yellow party will be the cancer to their demise.

He also said the party’s dominance couldn’t be seen because its votes have always been stolen by the former regime in the previous elections.

Darboe made these statements on Saturday evening at his residence along Kairaba Avenue after his party consolidated its dominance in the new political landscape of The Gambia.

The UDP won 7 seats out of 8 available mayoral and chairman seats losing only a seat to the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) in the Janjanbureh Administrative Area of Kuntaur CRR North. These wins included two of the most important administrative councils, Banjul City Council (BCC) and Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC).

Lawyer Darbaoe said the former government could not stand his party because they knew that it is the party that was capable of ending their reign.

“We have always been dominant; that’s the truth. That’s why APRC could not stand us because they knew it is UDP that is the cancer that will cause their demise.”

Happy and relaxed Darboe said that UDP could have been in power had their votes not been stolen because the party was the dominant party. “UDP has always been dominant in this country that is the truth, but in the past, our elections have been stolen that is why we never form the government, but we’ve always been dominant,” he said.

“When you have a fair minded commission, a commission that is meant to ensure that electoral justice prevails and they did their work according to the rule and it is now that people are seeing dominance but we have always been dominant.”

He expressed his delight over Rohey Lowe being elected as the first mayoress of the city, describing it as historic. “It is history making for the country and history making for our party,” he said. “What it means is that there should be more opportunities given to women so that when you talk of women empowerment, we should really mean it, we should not just reduce women to king makers.”

“They themselves should be elected to places of responsibilities where they can take decisions and this is what the election of lady mayor elect Rohey Lowe indicates.”

Darboe said the elected mayors and chairmen went to nominations as UDP candidates but after being elected into office, they ceased to be representatives of UDP, saying “they are representatives of the people.”

He thanked all the candidates and the general Gambian populace for what he described as showing great maturity and civility.