Twenty years ago the Gambia held a Presidential election to mark the
end of the coup period and the eve of the second Republic. Children
who were born in 1996 are now 20 years. They are now adults of thesecond Republic. They have the right to vote and determine the
holders of the office of President, National Assembly member, Mayor
and Councillor.
In another year they would be qualified to stand as candidates.
However, a law has been made that they must pay a deposit of 50,000
Dalasi to be able to stand. Do they want a government which restricts
their rights by imposing heavy deposits before they could stand for
elections? How they vote would determine the type of laws we have in
the country. The children of the second Republic are now ready to
begin family life.
Have they got the type of employment which would enable them to
maintain a family? The way they vote will determine the standard of
living they will have.
Hence, each should strive to have a voter’s card and be ready to go
through thick and thin to vote. Those who fail to exercise their
rights have no power or say when it comes to determining how the
country is to be governed. Those without voters’ cards forfeit their
right to speak with the voice that matters.
