history
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The sudden withdrawal of Talib Bensouda from the United Democratic Party’s (UDP) flagbearer race—and his resignation as the party’s National Organizing Secretary—has sent shockwaves through Gambian politics. This isn’t just another internal party dispute; it is a symptom of deeper structural challenges within the UDP and, by extension, The Gambia’s fragile democracy. As the country
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BANJUL, The Gambia—In a small nation celebrated for its 2016 democratic revolution, a crisis is unfolding within the United Democratic Party (UDP), The Gambia’s largest opposition force. As the 2026 presidential election approaches, the UDP—once a symbol of resistance against dictatorship—is tearing itself apart over an agonizing question: Should 76-year-old leader Ousainou Darboe, a five-time presidential
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BANJUL, The Gambia—Last March, Gambians witnessed a quiet assault on their democracy. As parliament debated a critical elections bill, it erased a Supreme Court-backed guarantee of diaspora voting rights. Now, tens of thousands of citizens abroad—whose remittances fuel 20% of the economy—face an impossible choice: financial ruin or democratic exile. They must now spend exorbitant
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The Gambia stands at a precipice. Once celebrated for ending Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship through the ballot box in 2016, the nation now risks backsliding into the very autocracy it overthrew. President Adama Barrow’s pledge to deliver a “legacy” of constitutional reform—including presidential term limits and an absolute majority voting system—rings hollow amid a cynical
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In December 2016, Gambians everywhere celebrated the end of dictator Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule, a victory significantly fueled by diasporic activism, funding, and digital mobilization. Today, that same diaspora feels betrayed. In March 2025, Gambia’s National Assembly rejected a clause granting voting rights to citizens abroad, dismissing their constitutional claims and immense contributions. This decision
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BANJUL, The Gambia —Threat to The Gambia’s democratic progress isn’t a coup or foreign meddling, but failure of the nation’s brightest minds abandoning or being uninterested in elected office. This behavior is paralyzing institutions, hollowing governance, and endangering Africa’s smallest mainland nation. The National Assembly – the engine of legislative reform – badly underrepresents The
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In 2016, Gambians achieved the remarkable: they ousted a dictator, Yahya Jammeh, through the power of the vote after 22 years of repression. His departure, fueled by promises to rule for “a billion years” and bizarre claims like an AIDS cure, shone as a beacon for African democracy. Yet a decade later, The Gambia’s democratic
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BANJUL, The Gambia — In this slender West African nation, where the Gambia River stitches together communities, a frantic political assembly is underway. As the December 2026 presidential elections approach, The Gambia is witnessing an epidemic of political entrepreneurship. Opportunistic formations like the Reform and Development Party (RDP), launched recently by Imam Musa Jallow, join
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BANJUL, The Gambia — Eight years ago, this small West African nation celebrated a democratic miracle. After 22 years of Yahya Jammeh’s brutal dictatorship, citizens voted him out of office. The euphoric aftermath promised not just new leadership but a rebirth: a new constitution to dismantle the architecture of tyranny and build institutions resilient against
The Civic Scribe: Articles & Poems 