Momodou
Lamin Sanneh, a one-time minority leader of the National Assembly and Member
for Kiang West, has been duly elected as Deputy Speaker of the Gambia’s
National Assembly at a ceremony held yesterday at the National Assembly
Building in Banjul.
Hon.
Sanneh was among five members nominated by the President of the Republic in
accordance with the Constitution of The Gambia.
He
took the oath of office, allegiance and secrecy and promised to execute his
duties without fear or favour.
He
was among the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) executives arrested,
prosecuted and jailed after staging a peaceful protest against the death of
Solo Sandeng in the hands of the former NIA agents.
During
Dawda Jawara’s rule, Sanneh contested twice in elections against the then
incumbent People’s Progressive Party (PPP) politicians.
In
the 1977 elections, he stood as an Independent candidate against Amang Kanyi,
and in the 1982 elections, he stood as a National Convention Party (NCP)
candidate against Kawsu Semega Janneh.
His
first success came in the 2007 parliamentary elections when he stood on the
United Democratic Party’s ticket and won the constituency of Kiang West beating
Kalifa Kambi.
Between
2007 and 2012, he served as Minority Leader in the National Assembly, and also
served on a number of committees, including the National Assembly Authority,
the Public Accounts Committee, the Defence and Security Committee, and the
Government Project Monitoring Committee. He was also a member of the ECOWAS
Parliament between 2007 and 2012.
