By Fatou Sillah
Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Gambia’s Minister of Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, said in an interview with West Coast Radio that allowing a president to serve more than two terms would not pose a threat to the country’s democracy. He emphasized that the nation has established robust institutions capable of safeguarding democratic governance, regardless of the length of a presidential tenure.
Dr. Ceesay’s remarks come in response to a national opinion poll conducted by CepRass, which found that a majority of Gambians oppose President Adama Barrow pursuing a third term in office. He described such surveys as snapshots of public sentiment rather than definitive assessments of the country’s democratic health.
“But I think for the Gambia today, whether a president goes for two or three or five or ten terms, we have built a system, we have built a country that can ensure that our democracy is not in danger if the president runs for three or four or five or six terms,” Dr. Ceesay said.
He noted that public perceptions often reflect the information available to citizens and expectations that may not always align with political realities. He also pointed out that the lack of comparable opinion surveys from previous administrations makes it difficult to contextualize current attitudes.
Dr. Ceesay highlighted the conduct of elections, the independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press, and the political space for opposition parties as evidence of the country’s strong democratic foundations.
“In the Gambia, elections are genuinely free and fair; that is a fact. In the Gambia, courts are independent; that is a fact. In the Gambia, the media is free. In the Gambia, the opposition can campaign without harassment,” he said.
He added that the central question for democracy is whether the law permits a president to seek additional terms and whether leaders can lose elections and leave office peacefully—both of which, he said, remain true in Gambia.
“The question we should be asking in the Gambia today is, is it allowed by law? Yes, it is allowed, and in the Gambia today, can a president lose elections and stand down peacefully? Yes, this is democracy,” he said.
Dr. Ceesay concluded that concerns over a potential third term for President Barrow are “unfounded,” though he acknowledged the legitimacy of public perceptions.
“So, for me, I don’t think that his going for a third term will be a danger to our democracy; that is unfounded, and I don’t support that based on the information that we have. People have their own perceptions, and their perceptions are valid,” he said.
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