By Seedy Jobe
Rohey Malick Lowe, the Lord Mayor of Banjul, has called for a reset in the tone of Gambian politics, urging President Adama Barrow and other national leaders to help rein in personal attacks and ensure that women can participate in public life without fear.
In a statement, Ms. Lowe said the nation’s increasingly coarse political environment is discouraging many capable women from entering politics. “The current political situation in The Gambia is very worrying. It is pushing good people away, especially women,” she said.
Ms. Lowe, the first woman elected to lead the capital city, warned that insults and character smears have become so common that they overshadow substantive policy discussions. “Many women with the heart, mind, and vision to help our country are now afraid to join politics,” she said. “They fear a space where destroying character is more common than debating policies.”
She argued that leadership should be measured by ideas, not by verbal attacks. “A true politician is not measured by the insults they can give, but by the policies they hold and the solutions they offer,” she said, adding that political debate “should never be about ego or entitlement.”
The mayor also stressed that public faith in the country’s institutions depends on fairness and consistency in how laws are enforced. “If people are to respect and support the law, they must see it applied fairly and evenly,” she said.
Invoking recent comments by President Barrow promoting national unity, Ms. Lowe urged politicians to cultivate an environment that welcomes participation rather than deters it. “Let us support politics that encourages everyone to participate, not one that uses fear and disrespect to silence them,” she said, describing her appeal as a reflection of the concerns of “the many women and citizens who want a more respectful, issue-based, and inclusive democracy.”
Her remarks come at a moment of heightened political tension in The Gambia, as parties prepare for upcoming elections and worries mount over the increasingly confrontational rhetoric dominating public discourse.