{"id":94993,"date":"2026-02-26T16:24:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law"},"modified":"2026-02-26T17:32:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:32:59","slug":"democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law","title":{"rendered":"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong> <\/span>A senior official of the Unite Movement for Change and business councilor at the Kanifing Municipal Council, MC Cham Jr., has cautioned that The Gambia\u2019s recent recognition among Africa\u2019s 10 best-governed countries masks persistent weaknesses in the rule of law and anti-corruption efforts.<\/b><\/p>\n

His remarks came less than a day after the State House of The Gambia announced that the country had been ranked among the continent\u2019s top performers in the 2026 World Economics Governance Index, earning an overall score of 47.6. According to the announcement, The Gambia recorded notable gains in press freedom, scoring 65.4, and political rights, at 54.8\u2014improvements the government attributed to governance reforms under President Adama Barrow.<\/p>\n

In a statement responding to the ranking, Mr. Cham acknowledged the advances in civil liberties but argued that the celebration should be tempered by what he described as troubling deficiencies in other critical areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cImprovements in press freedom at 65.4 percent and political rights at 54.8 percent are positive developments and reflect the democratic space that has gradually expanded in recent years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Yet he pointed to significantly lower scores in rule of law, at 38.5 percent, and control of corruption, at 31.6 percent, calling them a cause for serious national reflection.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not minor indicators,\u201d Mr. Cham said. \u201cThey are the foundation upon which any meaningful democracy is built. Without a strong rule of law and a credible fight against corruption, democratic gains remain shallow and vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

He questioned the administration\u2019s commitment to combating corruption, describing its record as disappointing and marked by a lack of decisive action.<\/p>\n

\u201cFighting corruption requires more than public statements and promises,\u201d he said. \u201cIt requires political will, consistent enforcement, and real accountability across all public institutions. The absence of firm action and visible consequences has contributed significantly to the country\u2019s poor performance on the corruption index.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Cham also urged the government to strengthen judicial independence, calling for concrete support for the judiciary to ensure it can function without interference.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrengthening the rule of law is not optional,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is the central pillar of democracy and good governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further called on public officials to demonstrate transparency and accountability in their conduct, arguing that reform must begin at the highest levels of government.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the administration is serious about reform, it must lead by example,\u201d he said. \u201cPublic officials must be held to the highest standards, institutions must be protected from interference, and transparency must become the norm rather than the exception.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although The Gambia\u2019s overall score of 47.6 placed it ahead of many of its regional peers, it remained behind neighboring Senegal and Sierra Leone. Mr. Cham said that standing should inspire humility rather than triumphalism.<\/p>\n

\u201cProgress in selected areas must not be used as political cover to avoid confronting deeper institutional weaknesses,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Gambia<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. A senior official of the Unite Movement for Change and business councilor at the Kanifing Municipal Council, MC Cham Jr., has cautioned that The Gambia\u2019s recent recognition among Africa\u2019s 10 best-governed countries masks persistent weaknesses in the rule of law and anti-corruption efforts. His remarks came less than a day after the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":94992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-94993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nDemocratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press - Gambia. A senior official of the Unit ...\" \/>\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\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press - Gambia. A senior official of the Unit ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law\" \/>\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=\"2026-02-26T16:24:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T17:32:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.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=\"3 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\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T16:24:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-26T17:32:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law\"},\"wordCount\":487,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law\",\"name\":\"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law - Gambia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T16:24:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-26T17:32:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"-article-header-tag\\\"> Africa-Press - Gambia. A senior official of the Unit ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\",\"name\":\"Gambia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law - Gambia","description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press - Gambia. A senior official of the Unit ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law","og_description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press - Gambia. A senior official of the Unit ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law","og_site_name":"Gambia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2026-02-26T16:24:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-26T17:32:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law","datePublished":"2026-02-26T16:24:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-26T17:32:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law"},"wordCount":487,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.jpg","keywords":["Gambia"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law","name":"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law - Gambia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-26T16:24:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-26T17:32:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press - Gambia. A senior official of the Unit ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/02\/sm_1772126961.898632.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/democratic-gains-vulnerable-without-rule-of-law#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Democratic Gains Vulnerable Without Rule of Law"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/","name":"Gambia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}