{"id":86043,"date":"2025-09-15T15:14:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T16:37:10","slug":"pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike","title":{"rendered":"PASTEF Condemns National Assembly’S Party Fee Hike"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>The Public Relations Officer of PASTEF The Gambia, Mr. Mayorro Sidibeh, has strongly condemned the National Assembly\u2019s decision to double the political party registration fee from D1 million to D2 million. The move follows a recent increase in the presidential nomination deposit from D10,000 to D1 million.<\/b><\/p>\n

Mr. Sidibeh described the decision as \u201ca deeply regressive step,\u201d arguing that it is not a reform but rather \u201can assault on democratic participation\u201d that threatens to exclude young and aspiring Gambians from shaping the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not legislation; it is legislative elitism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He contended that in a democracy where the Constitution guarantees the right to form political parties, such financial barriers are unjustifiable.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can a people-driven system demand millions from those seeking to serve? This does not protect democracy, it smothers it under the weight of wealth,\u201d Mr. Sidibeh added.<\/p>\n

Responding to claims that \u201cpolitics is not a child\u2019s play,\u201d Mr. Sidibeh countered that \u201cpolitics is equally not an oligarch\u2019s sport.\u201d He argued that the Assembly is sidelining the youth and the working class by tying political participation to wealth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about filtering unserious contenders, it\u2019s about gatekeeping power,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

He noted that many of today\u2019s dominant political parties began with modest resources and relied on ideas and grassroots support rather than financial strength. Had similar financial barriers existed in the past, he said, some of those parties might never have survived, let alone thrived.<\/p>\n

Mr. Sidibeh further warned that the fee increase will not deter so-called \u201cbusiness parties\u201d but will instead entrench political privilege and hinder genuine grassroots movements.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue political viability should be measured by public support, transparency, and integrity, not financial muscle,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Assembly has chosen to raise a financial wall instead of a democratic standard. This is not fiscal responsibility, it is systemic disenfranchisement dressed as reform, echoing tactics once associated with dictatorship,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In his closing remarks, Mr. Sidibeh praised lawmakers who opposed the bill for their integrity and commitment to democratic principles. He warned, however, that those who supported the measure would be remembered for shrinking the country\u2019s democratic space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call for an immediate reversal. No democracy thrives when money, not merit, decides who leads,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. The Public Relations Officer of PASTEF The Gambia, Mr. Mayorro Sidibeh, has strongly condemned the National Assembly\u2019s decision to double the political party registration fee from D1 million to D2 million. The move follows a recent increase in the presidential nomination deposit from D10,000 to D1 million. Mr. Sidibeh described the decision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":86042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-86043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nPASTEF Condemns National Assembly'S Party Fee Hike - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Public Relations Officer of PASTEF The Gambia, Mr. Mayorro Sidibeh, has strongly condemned the National Assembly\u2019 ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PASTEF Condemns National Assembly'S Party Fee Hike\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Public Relations Officer of PASTEF The Gambia, Mr. Mayorro Sidibeh, has strongly condemned the National Assembly\u2019 ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T15:14:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T16:37:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/09\/sm_1757941599.114951.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"PASTEF Condemns National Assembly’S Party Fee Hike\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-15T15:14:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T16:37:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike\"},\"wordCount\":400,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/09\/sm_1757941599.114951.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/pastef-condemns-national-assemblys-party-fee-hike\",\"name\":\"PASTEF Condemns National Assembly'S Party Fee Hike - 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