Dr
Isatou Touray, an independent presidential candidate, has promised to serve for
only one term if elected president of The Gambia in the forthcoming
presidential election on 1 December.
“I
am committed, if elected, to serve for one five-year term only,” she said on
Friday at the official launching of her presidential bid at the Kairaba Beach
Hotel in Kololi.
For
all the known candidates for the upcoming presidential election, only Dr Touray
and Halifa Sallah of the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and
Socialism (PDOIS) party have promised to serve for only one term.
Other
party leaders promised to make The Gambia an earthly paradise, but not to serve
for a term and leave.
Presently,
The Gambia is one of the two West African countries with no presidential term
limit, and the incumbent president vowed to continue leading as long as Allah
wishes.
The
15-member West African regional bloc, Ecowas, in 2015, tried to institute a
two-term limit in all member states, but the governments of Gambia and Togo
vehemently opposed the proposal leading to its shelving.
Dr
Touray, the first female to vie for presidency in The Gambia, said in serving
her one term, if elected, she would work with all those who have the capacity
and commitment to salvage The Gambia “as it totters on the brinks of total
collapse”.
“I
would work with all the existing parties and Gambians to steer the country
towards a direction that will enable it to respond to the needs and aspirations
of the people,” she said. “Together, we
can bring the change that is needed.”
The
61-year-old women’s rights campaigner said together with other meaningful
Gambians, the country can be stopped from further degeneration and be given a
new lease of life where hope, love and appreciation of each other, respect for
fundamental freedoms, and peace will thrive.
Dr
Touray, her emblem a broom, said the widespread belief that the ruling Alliance
for Patriotic, Re-orientation and Construction (APRC) party cannot be defeated
in election “is a misconception”.
She
told a hall full of cheerful supporters, mainly women, that everyone has his/her
vote as a weapon to effect the desired change.
She
said it is her fervent belief and conviction that there can be a change for a
better Gambia, when all efforts and political capital are directed at the
singular goal of ushering in a new and third republic.
She
promised that under her leadership, the third republic will bring in progress
by building strong democratic instruments and institutions, repealing the
obnoxious laws that restrict people’s freedom and liberty, building a strong
economy and levelling the political playing field.
The
presidential aspirant said she observed the current dispensation in The Gambia
over the years, but what she saw is a “deteriorating Gambia with the
deteriorating institutions”.
She
said: “Gambians today are not free to
say what they think. Fear and terror
have so gripped the people that most will look behind their shoulders before
they speak.
“Those
in power are not listening to the demands for political or economic
reform. Conditions for political
participation have been so crafted that political pluralism has been curtailed,
generating a feeling of powerlessness among many.
“Too
much power is concentrated in too few hands. Those who make decisions on behalf
of others are too often not accountable.
“The
immediate and compelling task before all of us is to awaken our consciousness
of the sovereign power that resides in the people to use our votes as the
instrument of change to free ourselves from the rule of fear and terror.”
Dr
Touray, mother of four, said Gambians need a new approach to government that
involves the people in decisions that affect them.
“I
will restore the sovereignty of the people, end impunity and decentralise
authority and power,” she said.
“I
seek your support in our quest to bring The Gambia out of isolation, to build
bridges and linkages with people of other nations in partnerships that
safeguard, protect and promote the interest of Gambia as a sovereign state.”
Political
observers said though this is the lady’s first time to contest for presidency,
she is likely to pull more votes than some of the decades-old political parties
in the country.
A
student of the University of The Gambia majoring in development studies said Dr
Touray has a strong connection with the grassroots people through her campaign
for women’s rights.
“She
has eaten with them, danced with them over the years, so they would naturally
have more leaning towards her than the politicians who only go to them in big
cars and nice ‘haftan’ once in a while just to campaign and come back,” said
the student, who prefers anonymity because his university education is being
sponsored by the government through the Ministry of Higher Education.
Another
university student, Modou S. Joof, who is majoring in political science,
however, said Dr Touray’s popularity as a feminist activist might not
necessarily translate to her popularity as a presidential candidate.
“She
will largely be banking on the support of women and youths, but most of the
women are uneducated and unaware and have grown to fully accept the patriarchal
nature of our society.”
However,
Joof admitted that the lady could be a force to reckon with in the December
2016 presidential election.
