By Seedy Jobe
The United Democratic Party, led by Ousainu ANM Darboe, on Tuesday warned that The Gambia has yet to deliver the electoral reforms championed by Ebrima Solo Sandeng, cautioning that his death could prove in vain without renewed public engagement.
Speaking at a memorial procession marking the 10th anniversary of Sandeng’s death, Mr. Darboe said the occasion commemorates the activist’s “unlawful arrest, detention, subsequent torture, and death” while serving as the party’s national organizing secretary.
“Today marks the 10th anniversary of the unlawful arrest, detention, subsequent torture, and death of Solo Sandeng,” he said.
Mr. Darboe, who was himself arrested in the aftermath of Sandeng’s death, said the protest led by Sandeng and his colleagues was not driven by partisan interests but by a broader national agenda centered on electoral reform. He argued that the country’s legal and constitutional framework at the time was “heavily weighted in favor of self-perpetuation,” a condition Sandeng believed had to be challenged.
“Solo and his colleagues believed that if you have a right to do anything, you do not need permission to exercise that right,” Mr. Darboe said, adding that such rights must still be exercised with respect for others.
He recalled that political parties had collectively opposed the administration of former president Yahya Jammeh over a sharp increase in presidential nomination fees, from one million dalasis to a later-reduced five hundred thousand.
According to Mr. Darboe, promises made to Gambians included comprehensive electoral reform, the repeal of restrictive legislation such as the Public Order Act, and the adoption of a new constitution that would strengthen citizen control over government.
“Alas, ten years after Solo’s death, none of those political and constitutional agendas have been implemented,” he said.
While noting that the National Assembly passed an Elections Bill in 2026, Mr. Darboe questioned whether it adequately addressed the concerns raised by Sandeng and his colleagues. He also criticized the continued use of alkalo attestations in voter registration, arguing that the practice allows ineligible individuals to be registered.
“This was not what Solo fought for,” he said, also referencing other activists, including Nogoi Njie and Fatoumatta Jawara, who were imprisoned during the protests.
Mr. Darboe further objected to provisions in the new law raising presidential nomination fees to one million dalasis and political party registration fees to two million dalasis, describing them as prohibitive and contrary to the constitutional right to freedom of association.
“Where is the electoral reform?” he asked. “What has been done is to further bastardize our electoral process.”
Calling on young people to take up the mantle of reform, Mr. Darboe urged citizens not to remain passive in the face of ongoing challenges.
“We should not be idle bystanders. We should rise up. The challenges are now yours. You must make sure that what Solo Sandeng died for is not in vain. Every time i talk about Solo, i don’t mourn him. My tears roll, but those tears rolling are not tears of mourning. It’s tears of celebration. Celebrating his patriotism. Celebrating his altruism,” Mr. Darboe said. “He said, ‘If I’m to be the sacrificial lamb for Gambia to be free, let me be killed.’”
Mr. Darboe warned that failure to achieve the reforms pursued by Sandeng would amount to a collective shortcoming but said such a trajectory could still be reversed.
The procession, he said, would conclude at the site where Sandeng was arrested on April 14, 2016, serving as a reminder of the sacrifices made in pursuit of democratic reform.
“For seeking a better constitutional order, for seeking better laws for Gambians—that is why they were arrested,” he said.
He also encouraged participants to attend an evening lecture, which he described as the most significant part of the commemoration, intended to “spur and redirect” national efforts.
Concluding his remarks, Mr. Darboe expressed gratitude to the media and paid tribute to Sandeng’s family.
“To Nyaling Sandeng, though you are not here, the Gambia is grateful to you and your siblings for giving up a father like Solo,” he said.
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