It was not the ownership of any one Ambassador as many were made to believe. It was a collective decision of the Ambassadors concerned. That action by the Gambian Ambassadors sparked international attention on the country’s transition agenda. This was anchored on the decision of the UN Security Council Resolution which called for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Jammeh from power and to allow the democratic will of the Gambian people to prevail. The battle for political survival assumed further dimension with the disintegration of the coalition agreement of 2016 that was reached by seven political parties.
The three year transitional agenda was converted to a full five year term of office of the Presidency. This development emanated from the incorporation of some UDP officials in the Cabinet of the President. The President was effectively united with his Seniors in the UDP. As expected, three years into governance, the split came between the UDP Executive Ministers and the Presidency. That was the time the real battle for political survival emerged on the political scene. The main opposition and the ruling NPP government could no longer see eye to eye in almost all aspects of governance and the democratic order. The country has since witnessed political bitterness and rivalry between these two factions. As we approached the next round of elections in 2021, the NPP was formed under the leadership of His Excellency President Barrow. This as a result, gave rise to the need for NPP to forge new alliances with other Political Parties and the APRC Yes Camp in particular. Since the NPP was a Presidential Party, many other small parties seized the opportunity to join the alliance with the hope of getting rewards with positions in government. And indeed, when the NPP won the 2021 Presidential elections, most of the alliance members were rewarded with various government positions in Cabinet, National Assembly, in the Diplomatic Service, Regional Governors and elsewhere. The Nation therefore, assumed a new phase in the political process and that is the politics of transactional relationships. We saw the proliferation of numerous Presidential Advisers, politicians jumping ship from their Parties to the NPP and even some Civil Servants aligned themselves with the NPP to protect their positions and to continue to enjoy the sweetness of office. All the flipping National issues in the public domain such as a new constitution, Diaspora Voting rights, contentious 2025 National Budget, Presidential term limit, appointment of a new IEC Chairman, etc among others, are all hanging in the balance as the battle for political survival gather momentum in the body politics of the country. Democracy could crash if there is no national consensus on these governance issues. The Nation seemed to be trapped between political survival of the main Parties aimed at capturing the seat of power in 2026 elections and the urgency of putting a new and proper governance framework in place for the country to move forward. While we are seeing the emergence of new political parties and potential Presidential aspirants, one may wonder how these developments will impact on political dynamism in the country and the race to the seat of power in 2026. Are we going to see the 2016 type of Coalition of political parties that ousted the regime in place or a split voting outcome that will make it impossible for any one Party to be declared a winner. The battle for political survival must be in the equation for electoral turnout in 2026 elections. It is in the strategic interest of all political parties to agree on a determination of percentage that will constitute a winner in the elections. For the consolidation of democracy, this factor is politically feasible. In such a convoluted political atmosphere, political survival will depend on the Party that delivers the most to the benefits of the people. The worrying aspect in today’s politics is the ethnic divide and the political war between the main contenders. A strong third Party could send shock waves in the electoral outcome as we had experienced in the 2016 elections. Therefore, the battle for political survival must be cognizant of this dimension in the electoral process. The mood of the country should also be gauged in its proper context as it will no doubt have an impact on political behavior. It is hoped that lessons will be learnt in the outcomes of the 2021 Presidential elections and 2023 Local government elections in which inconceivable contradictions occurred in their outcomes.
The battle for political survival must take into account the population dynamics and how it will impact on the electoral outlook. The country is yet to transition from ethnic divide to a democratic disposition that is based on selection of quality representation in state governance. It takes a strategic political mobilization platform to break this politics of ethnicity and to excite the political consciousness of the electorates for the desired dividend in winning the battle for political survival. It will not be an easy ride to state power next year, looking at the unfolding events in the political arena.It takes a strategic political mobilization platform to break this politics of ethnicity and to excite political consciousness of the electorates for the desired dividend in winning the battle for political survival. It will not be an easy ride to state power next year, looking at the unfolding events in the political arena.
In the struggle for political survival, there is a need for the main opposition to fix its image of a quarrelsome Party according to the perceptions of many people in society. The NPP must equally contain its internal conflicts over tribalism and presidential spheres of influence which sends confusions in the politics of its Party, according to political observers. The other parties in the political arena cannot remain largely dormant in the political discourse for the sake of their political survival.
