Darboe Reiterates One-Term Pledge: “That Is My Covenant With Gambians”

By Seedy Jobe

United Democratic Party (UDP) Secretary General and leader Ousainou Darboe has reiterated his pledge to serve only one term if elected president in December, saying he will preside over a free and fair election and step down.

Mr. Darboe made the remarks on Wednesday in an exclusive interview with The Point newspaper on Facebook Live.

He said he is not tempted by the trappings of the presidency. “If, really, perks and privileges of office are of importance to me, I would have been vice president today. As vice president, or at least I would have been cabinet, but no,” he said. “Because you enjoy a lot of privileges. As vice president, you enjoy a lot of privileges. What you do not have is that you are the one who could give directives.”

Mr. Darboe said his decision is about consistency and service, and that nothing in the presidency would change his mind. “I don’t like what they are doing now, VAR. Nobody is going to do VAR on me,” he said.

He described his political mantra as “one term, one vision, one mission, and national renewal” and said his vision is a prosperous, better Gambia, to be achieved through a five-point agenda.

Asked what he would do if Gambians asked him to continue after five years of results, Mr. Darboe said such an argument was untenable for him and would breach his promise to the people. There could be better people, he said, who have not yet been given the opportunity to perform.

Mr. Darboe said no president can finish everything, even in a hundred years, but that his mission is achievable in five. He listed his first priority as a new constitution, which he said is possible within two years with political will. He also pledged to complete security sector reform, which he said began under the Barrow administration, and to reform the public service within three years.

On the economy, he said reform would be an ongoing process, but his administration would lay a solid foundation for economic take-off. He described an integrated, energized economy that attracts investors and puts Gambian entrepreneurs at the forefront of economic activity without discrimination.

He said that within five years he would complete three major reforms and lay a foundation for a fourth that future governments could not depart from.

Mr Darboe maintained that at the end of his term he will not contest, and will preside over a free and fair election.