By Omar Bah
The opposition United Democratic Party has vowed to sweep all the mayoral, chairmanship and councillor positions in May’s local government elections, while also urging the IEC to be impartial.
The UDP currently holds most of the country’s municipalities and area councils but it faces a potentially strong challenge from the ruling NPP especially in areas like Banjul and Basse.
But speaking to The Standard yesterday, the party’s new campaign manager, Momodou Sabally, said UDP is confident of retaining all its current councillors, mayors and chairman seats and is in a good position to grab even more.
“Preparations are on high gear as part of our customary self-reliance and clean campaign ethos. The selection process has been done and candidates have started working with their constituents. Already many wards are holding fundraising shows around the country and I am attending a few in URR and NBR this week,” Sabally said.
He said there will be a twist in strategy and the party will let the observers see that in the expected results.
“We are shooting for a landslide victory as all the development indicators and cost of living measures have clearly indicted the NPP incumbency. Gambians are fed up and tired of the incompetence and rampant corruption that characterises the Barrow administration,” he added.
Asked for his justification, Mr Sabally argued that there is “no way that the incumbent can make any great wins in the upcoming polls unless they resort to their rigging tricks. And as for that aspect, we are ready to make sure that there is no cheating in this election”.
“IEC has cemented their legacy of incompetence and shadiness but they are now quite aware that UDP will not leave any missteps unchecked. We will challenge them at every step in a proactive manner,” he added.
