Below is a statement issued by the UDP on its position relating to whether President Barrow should step down after three years. The statement calls on President Barrow to respect the Coalition Agreement and step down after three years.
Mr Ousainou Darboe
In 2016 the United Democratic Party good faith entered into negotiations with other parties to form Coalition 2016 to amongst other things select a candidate to contest on the coalition’s platform the 2016 Presidential Elections.
The terms and conditions negotiated by and agreed to by the Parties to Coalition 2016 contain several conditions but for the purposes of this statement four conditions are pertinent and these are:
1) Only flag-bearers of political parties or as independent candidates were eligible to contest in the primary process of selection of the Coalition Independent Candidate. This condition was complied with by Political Parties proposing Presidential candidates.
2) Each aspiring candidates agreed to participate in the primary process by providing 70 delegates from across the Gambia.
3) All contestants at the primary process agreed that the person selected during the primary contest will resign from his or her Political Party/ Independent organisation and become a Coalition Independent Candidate for the 2016 Presidential Election. Condition fulfilled
4) The Coalition Independent Candidate agreed to serve for three years as President if he wins the Presidential Elections of 2016 and to resign as President at the end of the three years and supervise fresh elections in which elections he shall not participate. Pending
The position of the UDP is that if any of these conditions were not agreed upon by the parties to Coalition 2016 there would not have been a Coalition at all.
And given the sequential nature of these commitments there is substantial performance of the Coalition 2016 Agreement by the parties and there are no reasons to fail or refuse to perform the fourth and last condition the time which is fast approaching.
Consequently the UDP wishes to clearly state that as a stakeholder in Coalition 2016, the Party supports the terms and conditions of Coalition 2016 Agreement as restated above.
The UDP urges all the parties of the Coalition 2016 Agreement, particularly the principal beneficiary of Coalition 2016, H.E President Adama Barrow to be faithful to the terms and conditions of the Coalition 2016 and to also fulfill his promise to the Gambian electorates that if elected he will serve a term of three years and step down to supervise free, fair and transparent Presidential elections.
