“A Sacrifice Unfulfilled”: Solo Sandeng’s Son Denounces ‘Moral Failures’ in Gambia’s Electoral System

By Seedy Jobe

Muhammed Sandeng, the son of the late Ebrima Solo Sandeng, said on Tuesday that The Gambia has yet to realize the electoral reforms his father died demanding, describing current laws as “absolute moral failures.”

Speaking at a memorial procession in Westfield marking the anniversary of his father’s death, Mr. Sandeng said the country remains governed by the 1997 Constitution, which he noted was enacted during the authoritarian rule under which his father was killed.

“My father did not die for himself,” he said. “He died for every Gambian who had ever been afraid to speak. He wanted a country where no vote could be stolen, no peaceful protester disappeared or was harmed, and no citizen silenced for demanding what was rightfully theirs.”

Mr. Sandeng said his father’s arrest and death in state custody in April 2016 were directly tied to his advocacy for electoral reform. “This is what he stood for,” he said. “This is what he was arrested for—and ultimately, what he was killed for.”

He described the country’s democratic transition as incomplete, pointing to failed attempts to replace the Constitution and warning that reforms built on its foundation remain fragile.

“Standing here today, we have an unfinished business. The 1997 Constitution, written under the dictatorship that killed him, remains in force. Two attempts to replace that failed. Every reform we built on that foundation remains unstable,” he noted.

He also criticized provisions in the Elections Bill 2024, particularly the increase in the presidential nomination deposit to one million dalasis. “My father died so that any Gambian, regardless of wealth, could stand and be counted,” he said. “That provision moves in the opposite direction.”

Mr. Sandeng further condemned the continued exclusion of Gambians abroad from participating in legislative and local government elections, arguing that the diaspora played a crucial role in the country’s political struggle. “They were the voices and the engine of our resistance,” he said. “Yet they still do not have full voting rights.”

“These are not technical disagreements,” he added. “They are moral failures, and they must be named as such.”

Addressing current leaders, he urged them not to undermine democratic gains for political advantage. “Do not let the pursuit of political advantage bring dishonor upon a democracy paid for by the blood of ordinary Gambians,” he said.

He also invoked the legacy of other activists, including Nogoi Njie, Falang Sonko and Kafu Bayo, citing their shared demands for independent oversight, equal access to political participation, diaspora inclusion, and a constitution rooted in the will of the people.

“This is not a radical demand. This is the minimum that a democracy owes to a citizen: that we are able to vote, and we are able to stand, and be counted, not also diminished or reduced, because we cannot afford D1 million or D10 million,” he said.

Mr. Sandeng opened his remarks by recalling advice from his father: “Do not let the pursuit of your wants bring dishonor to you.” He said he now understood the message as a broader warning—not only to himself, but to all those entrusted with the future of the republic.