Public Meeting by Political Parties is a Constitutional,
Political and Civic Right and not a Privilege

In the last issue we indicated that we would investigate the claim that the UDP was denied permit on a number of occasions. This is very strange. the President, The Attorney General and Minister of Interior should look at the Grievances of the UDP leadership and address them. We also call on the Leadership of the UDP to formally request for a meeting of the Inter-Party Committee to be convened to address any grievances. The Committee was established to address such situations. If there is to be a multi-party system the rights of political parties should be safeguarded regardless of their political differences.
If there is to be a multi-party system, the rights of political parties should be safeguarded regardless of their political differences.
The constitution and other legal instruments of the country are very clear on the political rights of Gambians and the rights of political parties.
Section 25 subsection (1)(e) of the Constitution states that “Every person shall have the right to freedom of association which shall include freedom to form and join associations and unions, including political parties and trade unions” and furthermore they have “freedom to assemble…”
The Laws have made it very clear that political parties have the right to shape the political will of the people and may disseminate information on their programmes and sponsor candidates. We monitored the UDP rally. Other than the expression of dissatisfaction for not being granted permit what the UDP leader said is what could be found in the Gambian Newspapers on a daily basis. In short, the issue of late delivery of fertilizer to Gambia farmers was well investigated and published by Abdoulie Dibba of Foroyaa and published when farmers expressed their grievances months ago. There is nothing wrong in mentioning this on a political platform. The issue of Public servants and members of the security or disciplined force in particular and the public in general working on the president’s farm which Darboe mentioned has been published by Foroyaa many months ago and the proposal given by Darboe that the President could best serve the public by transforming those farms into community farms could be found in Halifa Sallah’s Agenda 2011 which has also been published by Foroyaa months ago. There is nothing wrong in mentioning such views on a political platform. The UDP leader did also speak about the meat crisis and attributed the causes to the arrests of the butchers. These issues have been published in the Press. In fact, Foroyaa is still investigating the issue and is very careful in not alienating itself from the masses who want cheaper meat and had initially supported the control of prices prior to the scarcity of meat. When the scarcity developed some claimed that the butchers should be allowed to sell at their price. However, we came to discover that those who could afford to purchase at any price were opposed to price control but those who cannot afford the increase in prices want meat to be cheap and accessible. The butchers who sell at the markets feel that they could not make meet accessible at affordable prices unless those who sell live animals whole sale reduce their prices. They have expressed their unhappiness that the Government is controlling the prices of meat without controlling the prices of live animals. Foroyaa is now trying to find out the views of those who sell live animals whole sale and those who breed the animals to come up with a realistic recommendation. Foroyaa has maintained that Government’s attempt to introduce price control without a full study of the production, distribution and consumption chain amounts to economic adventurism that may win cheap popularity at the beginning but may create the problems of scarcity at the end. Our projections have come to light.
It is the duty of this government or any future Government to ensure that meat is affordable and accessible without putting anyone at a disadvantage in the production and distribution chain in particular and the consumers at large. The debates on how to achieve this should start on political platforms and the media if the APRC is not afraid to Govern in a democratic manner.
Political leaders are representatives. Every Gambian has a right to manage the affairs of the Country. However they have the constitutional right to elect their own compatriots as public trustees. Section 26 states that “ Every citizen of the Gambia of full age and capacity shall have the right, without unreasonable restrictions-
a) to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives”

There should be no unreasonable restriction of the right of those who aspire to be public trustees to put their programmes before the people for consideration. Section 25 subsection (4) states categorically that freedoms shall be exercised subject only to restrictions by law which “imposes reasonable restrictions which are necessary in a democratic society”. We hope the Government and Opposition will reach a just decision on this matter and save the country from unnecessary political squabbles. The people want debates between the political parties on the best way to guarantee them liberty and prosperity.