By Fatou Sillah
The secretary general of the opposition party PDOIS, Suwaibou Touray, has called for the abolition of nominated seats in The Gambia’s National Assembly, arguing that parliamentary representation should be determined exclusively through elections.
In an interview with West Coast Radio, Touray said the continued presence of appointed lawmakers undermines the principle of popular sovereignty and weakens democratic accountability.
“We are opposed to anybody coming to the National Assembly without the consent of the people,” he said. “Everybody who sits in Parliament should be there through the will of the electorate.”
He added that all legislators should secure their mandates directly from voters, insisting that electoral legitimacy is essential to genuine representation. “Everybody should come to the National Assembly through an election,” he said. “That is the only way you can ensure that those who go there are truly representing the people who voted for them.”
Touray also criticized the practice of presidential nominations to Parliament, describing it as a holdover from colonial governance structures that is inconsistent with republican ideals.
“That is not democratic,” he said. “This system of appointing people into Parliament was introduced during the British monarchy when they were here, and it does not reflect the spirit of a republic.”
Extending his argument to parliamentary leadership, Touray said positions such as the speaker and deputy speaker should also emerge from electoral processes rather than appointment-based arrangements.
“You cannot be the leader of an institution like Parliament when you are not elected,” he said. “Even the Speaker and Deputy Speaker should come through a process that reflects the will of the elected members.”
He further suggested that nominated members of parliament often align themselves with the executive branch rather than exercising independent judgment on behalf of citizens, raising concerns about their accountability to the electorate.
“Every time they speak, they are saying something that is influenced by the executive because they are there through nomination. They are not directly representing the people; they are representing the President,” he said.
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