The 1997 Constitution of The Gambia states every person over 18 can register and vote in public elections. This applies to all citizens, whether they live inside or outside the country. Back in April 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the election body to follow this rule by signing up Gambians living abroad. The election officials then included this right in their reform plans through Elections Bill 2021.
The Independent Electoral Commission worked on rules that would let overseas Gambians vote. They planned to decide which countries would have voting stations and who would run those stations. The bill moved through several steps in the National Assembly and reached the consideration phase. At this point, lawmakers can vote to change...
National Assembly members just talked about letting Gambians living overseas vote. Every lawmaker from the ruling party and their friends said no. Nobody really understands why they seem scared of diaspora voters. The Justice Minister tried explaining that folks living outside the country can't vote because they don't belong to voting areas called constituencies.
Many experts laugh at this reason. They say the government could easily ask the Independent Electoral Commission to create voting areas for people living abroad. With all our amazing technology today, setting up these voting areas should be pretty simple. Had officials started working on this right after the last election, we wouldn't need to argue about it today.
The...
Gambians living abroad feel really angry about lawmakers voting against their right to vote in elections. Many see this as a huge betrayal since people outside The Gambia played a major role in helping politicians like Adama Barrow win back in 2016. The money these overseas Gambians send home reached over $775 million US dollars during 2024 alone, which equals about 46.4 billion dalasis and keeps the country going financially. The final count showed 25 legislators against diaspora voting, with just 14 supporting it, prompting some leaders, including Essa Faal from the APP-Sobeyya Alliance, to consider challenging this decision in court.
Momodou Malcolm Jallow, a Swedish lawmaker with Gambian roots, called the vote a complete betrayal...
Dr Nathan Nsubuga Bakyaita has become the new WHO Country Representative for The Gambia. At a ministry ceremony, he handed his official papers to Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Momodou Tangara. UN Resident Coordinator Mr Karl Frédérick Paul attended this key handover meeting. Both leaders pledged strong support for helping WHO boost public health across the country.
Minister Tangara welcomed the new representative warmly and assured him the government would back all WHO health programs. They hope to achieve the third Sustainable Development Goal, which focuses on health and well-being for all citizens. Dr Bakyaita brings impressive credentials as a Ugandan health specialist with years of experience creating medical policies and running...
Finance Minister Seedy Keita squashed rumors that President Barrow spends D150,000 daily on food. Lower Saloum representative Sainey Jawara had asked him to point out where this expense appears in the 2025 budget. Keita responded firmly that people have spread wrong information about the president's eating habits.
The actual numbers paint a different picture according to Keita. He explained the entire 2025 budget sets aside D19 million for these expenses, far below what gossip suggests. The minister clarified they never spend more than D1.5 million yearly on the president's household meals, which breaks down to under D50,000 each day.
Keita went further to explain how the budget works. The money for presidential meals comes from the...
Almameh Gibba stood up for his vote against allowing Gambians living abroad to cast ballots. The National Assembly decided Tuesday to block a section of the Election Bill that would have let people from The Gambia vote from other countries. This sparked anger toward lawmakers who rejected it. Many folks living overseas attacked the decision on social media.
The Assembly voted down Clause 14, which suggested ways to register Gambians abroad for elections. Twenty-five members, mostly from the ruling National People's Party and its friends, voted no. Fourteen opposition members supported the idea. People who wanted diaspora voting pointed out that the Constitution gives all citizens over 18 the right to vote no matter where they live...
Tuesday brought big news from the National Assembly. Members voted to keep requiring letters from village heads (Alkalolu) for people who want to register as voters. This rule has caused many arguments across the country. Critics say political parties often pressure village leaders to help non-citizens register illegally. The practice hurts fair elections.
Several lawmakers pushed hard to delete this rule from the Election Bill completely. They pointed out a simple truth - most village heads simply cannot recognize every single person living in their communities. Despite these concerns, other lawmakers fought to keep the requirement. Speaker Fabakary Tombong Jatta claimed removing this power would disrespect community leaders.
The...
Henry Gomez walked free from court after Justice Ebrima Jaiteh threw out all seven criminal charges against him. The judge at the High Court in Banjul cleared Gomez of conspiracy, assault, robbery, and threatening violence allegations. These charges date back to October 2023, with Gomez first appearing in court on March 24, 2024. From the start, he maintained his innocence on every count.
The case fell apart because prosecutors brought only one witness, Lamin Manneh, to testify. Judge Jaiteh criticized the prosecution for causing major delays that stretched beyond a year. The court grew frustrated as prosecutors repeatedly asked to postpone hearings because they failed to bring their witnesses. The judge said these constant delays...
The Trump administration just cut over 90% of foreign aid contracts and reduced funding by about $60 billion. Programs shut down right after this decision, leaving millions of people without crucial medical care. Aid organizations across the world got termination notices for roughly 10,000 contracts with USAID on Wednesday. These notices said programs were being defunded for convenience and because they served the interests of the US government.
Many affected programs exist in countries that rely completely on US support for basic health systems, food programs, and preventing starvation. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that fighting terrorism and drug trafficking and helping migrants will also be harmed by these cuts. Action...
