UDP Official Accuses Barrow of Using “Meet the People” Tour to Campaign

By Fatou Sillah

Lamin Manneh, the United Democratic Party’s deputy senior administrative secretary for external affairs, described President Adama Barrow’s “Meet the People” tour as an illegal campaign financed with public money, accusing the president of using a constitutionally mandated exercise to advance the governing National People’s Party’s interests ahead of the 2026 presidential election.

“This is an illegal campaign paid for by our tax dollars,” Mr. Manneh said in an interview with West Coast Radio. “He shouldn’t be doing this.”

Mr. Manneh said the tour was meant to give the president a chance to hear Gambians’ concerns and discuss solutions, not to campaign against opposition parties. He acknowledged that the president was entitled to travel the country to engage citizens, but said Mr. Barrow had turned the exercise into a political platform.

“They are supposed to go and sit there and listen to the people: What are your issues? How can we help to solve them?” he said. “And then they come back to cabinet and sit and discuss and solve them.”

Mr. Manneh alleged that the government had set aside 50 million dalasis for this year’s tour and that actual spending could be higher. He said the first tour had cost about 70 million dalasis, according to information obtained by the UDP, and estimated that the current one could cost a similar amount.

He also accused the government of repeatedly exceeding the sums approved by the National Assembly for presidential tours, and said lawmakers had failed to hold the executive to account.

Mr. Manneh said the tour had evolved over the years from an opportunity to meet citizens into a campaign platform. He said the president’s engagements typically centered on political exchanges and criticism of opposition parties rather than on residents’ complaints.

He also accused government officials of blocking people who wished to raise concerns from reaching the microphone. As an example, he cited a recent event in Banjul at which, he said, Modou Lamin Bah tried to raise an issue with the president and was rebuked. Such incidents, he said, discouraged citizens from speaking openly about their problems.

Mr. Manneh also criticized the Independent Electoral Commission for failing to address the use of public resources for political campaigning. He said the commission could propose legislation to create a framework for public funding of political parties, and that any such support should be distributed fairly rather than benefit only the governing party.

“Government is not entitled to its campaign being funded by the taxpayer, and that is what is happening in this country,” he said.

Absent a legal framework passed by Parliament, he said, parties should finance their campaigns from their own resources. He said the UDP relied on membership contributions and underwent internal and external audits, and that the use of public funds for the president’s tour created an uneven playing field.