Africa-Press – Gambia. APP-Sobeya leader Essa Faal has accused President Adama Barrow of trying to create a de-facto one-party state, which no one is talking about.
Speaking in a recent interview, Faal warned that raising registration fees for political parties to one million dalasi and setting parliamentary participation at half a million is a deliberate tactic to restrict political competition and exclude many from the democratic process
“I think Barrow is trying to create a de facto one- party state. Nobody is talking about it. If you make registration such that people cannot afford to run for election, the field is free for you,” he argued.
He said there is no easier way of creating a de facto one party state other than by making it almost a near impossibility for most people in the country to participate in the democratic space.
It could be recalled that the National Assembly approved an increased registration fee for political parties to one million dalasi and parliamentary participation to half a million dalasi.
Faal says he is not blaming the National Assembly for the approval, stressing that he is blaming the President for promoting that bill because it is the President’s idea. He pointed out: “It is the President’s bill that went to Parliament and was passed.”
APP-Sobeya leader said they would challenge the bill as unconstitutional, stating that Gambia’s democracy was not in the exclusive reserve of wealthy individuals.
“We would not accept that. We would go to court and challenge this as unconstitutional. We have to have confidence in the Supreme Court that they will do the right thing. But clearly, this law is unconstitutional,” Faal reiterated.
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