Gambia: ‘President Jammeh Authorises No one to Campaign for Kingship’
By Shout-Africa.com Gambia Correspondent – The unpopular campaign being mounted by traditional chiefs is not a directive from the Gambian president, the Governor of the rural Upper River Region (URR) has said.
“Maybe some people who are indeed loyal to President Yahya Jammeh are campaigning for kingship, but to be realistic President Jammeh has not asked for it and he is not sending anyone to campaign for it,” Governor Omar Khan said recently during a dialogue with the US Ambassador Pamela White.
Led by paramount chief Demba Sanyang, the executive members of National Council of Chiefs last year toured the whole country, meeting with district and regional elders to rally support for their campaign to crown President Jammeh as king.
The tour came after the delivery of two brand new vehicles provided to them by president Jammeh, even though it is not clear whether the vehicles were meant for the purpose of campaigning for the kingship.
Supported by some staunch supporters and few parliamentarians of the ruling ARPC, the chiefs said their reason to coronate President Jammeh is a way of rewarding him for the ‘massive development’ registered by his government.
However, the unveiling of the activities of traditional chiefs, who are leading the campaign sent shocking waves across the country and beyond amid widespread condemnation.
Opposition politicians said President Jammeh’s 16-year rule registers no meaningful development ‘as the people are wallowing in abject poverty’ coupled with human rights violations.
Even among the masses, the move is greeted with widespread condemnation with reports of some ruling APRC party supporters defecting to the main opposition-UDP as a protest against the risk of becoming subjects of Yahya Jammeh.
The kingship issue was wrangled at the National Assembly when the opposition-minority leader Momodou L K Sanneh of United Democrat Party called for a stop to the kingship campaign, saying it is unconstitutional. But some ruling APRC parliamentarians argued that the campaigners have a right to freedom of expression.
The office of the president remains mute over the issue and the paramount chief Demba Sanyang refused to grant an interview to Foroyaa newspaper over the issue.
But Governor Khan said President Jammeh did not authorize anyone to campaign for him to be crowned as king. Whether or not he supports the campaign is not clear.
Meanwhile, according to The Gambian constitution, The Gambia is a republic and any attempt to change that status quo means there will be a referendum with two-third of votes required for its amendment.
The tour came after the delivery of two brand new vehicles provided to them by president Jammeh, even though it is not clear whether the vehicles were meant for the purpose of campaigning for the kingship.
Supported by some staunch supporters and few parliamentarians of the ruling ARPC, the chiefs said their reason to coronate President Jammeh is a way of rewarding him for the ‘massive development’ registered by his government.
However, the unveiling of the activities of traditional chiefs, who are leading the campaign sent shocking waves across the country and beyond amid widespread condemnation.
Opposition politicians said President Jammeh’s 16-year rule registers no meaningful development ‘as the people are wallowing in abject poverty’ coupled with human rights violations.
Even among the masses, the move is greeted with widespread condemnation with reports of some ruling APRC party supporters defecting to the main opposition-UDP as a protest against the risk of becoming subjects of Yahya Jammeh.
The kingship issue was wrangled at the National Assembly when the opposition-minority leader Momodou L K Sanneh of United Democrat Party called for a stop to the kingship campaign, saying it is unconstitutional. But some ruling APRC parliamentarians argued that the campaigners have a right to freedom of expression.
The office of the president remains mute over the issue and the paramount chief Demba Sanyang refused to grant an interview to Foroyaa newspaper over the issue.
But Governor Khan said President Jammeh did not authorize anyone to campaign for him to be crowned as king. Whether or not he supports the campaign is not clear.
Meanwhile, according to The Gambian constitution, The Gambia is a republic and any attempt to change that status quo means there will be a referendum with two-third of votes required for its amendment.
“Maybe some people who are indeed loyal to President Yahya Jammeh are campaigning for kingship, but to be realistic President Jammeh has not asked for it and he is not sending anyone to campaign for it,” Governor Omar Khan said recently during a dialogue with the US Ambassador Pamela White.
Led by paramount chief Demba Sanyang, the executive members of National Council of Chiefs last year toured the whole country, meeting with district and regional elders to rally support for their campaign to crown President Jammeh as king.
The tour came after the delivery of two brand new vehicles provided to them by president Jammeh, even though it is not clear whether the vehicles were meant for the purpose of campaigning for the kingship.
Supported by some staunch supporters and few parliamentarians of the ruling ARPC, the chiefs said their reason to coronate President Jammeh is a way of rewarding him for the ‘massive development’ registered by his government.
However, the unveiling of the activities of traditional chiefs, who are leading the campaign sent shocking waves across the country and beyond amid widespread condemnation.
Opposition politicians said President Jammeh’s 16-year rule registers no meaningful development ‘as the people are wallowing in abject poverty’ coupled with human rights violations.
Even among the masses, the move is greeted with widespread condemnation with reports of some ruling APRC party supporters defecting to the main opposition-UDP as a protest against the risk of becoming subjects of Yahya Jammeh.
The kingship issue was wrangled at the National Assembly when the opposition-minority leader Momodou L K Sanneh of United Democrat Party called for a stop to the kingship campaign, saying it is unconstitutional. But some ruling APRC parliamentarians argued that the campaigners have a right to freedom of expression.
The office of the president remains mute over the issue and the paramount chief Demba Sanyang refused to grant an interview to Foroyaa newspaper over the issue.
But Governor Khan said President Jammeh did not authorize anyone to campaign for him to be crowned as king. Whether or not he supports the campaign is not clear.
Meanwhile, according to The Gambian constitution, The Gambia is a republic and any attempt to change that status quo means there will be a referendum with two-third of votes required for its amendment.
The tour came after the delivery of two brand new vehicles provided to them by president Jammeh, even though it is not clear whether the vehicles were meant for the purpose of campaigning for the kingship.
Supported by some staunch supporters and few parliamentarians of the ruling ARPC, the chiefs said their reason to coronate President Jammeh is a way of rewarding him for the ‘massive development’ registered by his government.
However, the unveiling of the activities of traditional chiefs, who are leading the campaign sent shocking waves across the country and beyond amid widespread condemnation.
Opposition politicians said President Jammeh’s 16-year rule registers no meaningful development ‘as the people are wallowing in abject poverty’ coupled with human rights violations.
Even among the masses, the move is greeted with widespread condemnation with reports of some ruling APRC party supporters defecting to the main opposition-UDP as a protest against the risk of becoming subjects of Yahya Jammeh.
The kingship issue was wrangled at the National Assembly when the opposition-minority leader Momodou L K Sanneh of United Democrat Party called for a stop to the kingship campaign, saying it is unconstitutional. But some ruling APRC parliamentarians argued that the campaigners have a right to freedom of expression.
The office of the president remains mute over the issue and the paramount chief Demba Sanyang refused to grant an interview to Foroyaa newspaper over the issue.
But Governor Khan said President Jammeh did not authorize anyone to campaign for him to be crowned as king. Whether or not he supports the campaign is not clear.
Meanwhile, according to The Gambian constitution, The Gambia is a republic and any attempt to change that status quo means there will be a referendum with two-third of votes required for its amendment.
