Electoral Campaign Period is not the same as the daily election campaign that each party must conduct to justify their existence as registered political parties. Registered political parties have the mandate to disseminate political, economic, social ideas and programmes on a daily basis to win the hearts and minds of the people. This type of campaign is done through holding rallies, community meetings and other community activities in order to position themselves for the next following elections.
Election campaign period is when the IEC takes charge and regulates the campaign activities of candidates on the basis of equity. The Commission must guarantee equal access to the media and allocate equal time to candidates. It would encourage the candidates to hold meetings where each is allotted for a given day. This campaign period is declared after nomination of candidates.
As it stands no one can say that there is only one political force in the Gambia. The visibility of all the political forces is heightened as the country gears up for the most intense electoral contest in its history. The electorate is also gearing up for the elections. The political temperature is heightening and political leaders should not lose the battle by being gripped by euphoria to the point of not guiding their supporters to know that the real campaign is to win new supporters not necessarily to retain old ones. No opposition force can hope to win elections by alienating new supporters and isolating old supporters. Leadership is the capacity to give guidance, it is not accepting everything supporters do for the sake of retaining their support. Those who drive away new supporters are only helping their parties to prepare for failure. This is the verdict of truth and common sense and should not be disregarded.
