Presidential Adviser Saikou Mballow Says NPP Unfazed by UDP’s 30th Anniversary Turnout

By Seedy Jobe

Presidential adviser Saikou Mballow has dismissed suggestions that the large turnout at the United Democratic Party’s 30th anniversary celebration should concern the governing National People’s Party, saying the NPP remains confident of victory in the Dec. 5 presidential election.

“I am the least worried,” Mr. Mballow said in an interview with journalist Ebrima Baldeh on Issues That Matter, arguing that President Adama Barrow’s record in office would ultimately carry more weight with voters than the size of opposition political gatherings.

Mr. Mballow, a former member of the UDP, acknowledged the thousands of supporters who attended the party’s anniversary celebration in Brikama but described the event as a normal feature of democratic politics rather than a sign of trouble for the governing party.

He said the UDP’s ability to hold such a large gathering without interference was itself a reflection of how much The Gambia’s political environment had changed.

Mr. Mballow recalled the restrictions faced by the UDP after its formation in 1996, when, he said, party meetings were routinely disrupted by paramilitary and Police Intervention Unit officers even when organizers had obtained permits.

He noted that President Barrow, also a UDP member before leaving the party, witnessed some of those early political struggles.

Mr. Mballow said the freedoms of association, movement and expression that Gambians enjoy today were among the democratic gains he hoped the country would preserve for future generations. He said his aspiration was for The Gambia to develop into a democracy that could serve as an example to other countries.

Turning to the December election, Mr. Mballow said NPP officials remained confident because, in his view, voters could point to tangible improvements under the Barrow administration.

He cited the construction of roads, bridges, health centers, and universities, as well as improvements in emergency medical services and the availability of ambulances in communities that previously had limited access to such services.

Mr. Mballow also pointed to large crowds at recent NPP events, including a rally in Lamin, saying supporters had turned out voluntarily to hear the president.

He argued that Gambian voters were increasingly judging political leaders on their record of delivering public services rather than campaign rhetoric, and predicted that the NPP would prevail when voters go to the polls on Dec. 5.

Mr. Mballow also addressed the continuing presence of the ECOWAS Mission in The Gambia, commonly known as ECOMIG, which has remained a contentious political issue since the end of former President Yahya Jammeh’s rule.

He rejected the suggestion that the deployment was a unilateral decision by President Barrow, saying the regional force was sent to The Gambia by ECOWAS leaders to safeguard the outcome of the disputed 2016 presidential election and the subsequent political transition.

Mr. Mballow said he believed ECOMIG should remain in the country until there was sufficient assurance that peace and stability had been firmly secured.