Barrow warns voters, attacks Darboe and Bensouda
President Adama Barrow has cautioned Gambians against electing leaders primarily on the basis of youth, warning that age alone does not guarantee effective governance.
Speaking at a rally in Lamin Busumbala Constituency on Saturday, Barrow cited an unnamed country where citizens regretted replacing an experienced president with a younger leader, saying the younger administration’s five years in office had produced disappointing results.
“Sweet talk does not govern a country,” Barrow declared, urging voters to weigh competence and achievements over charisma or age.
The president also took aim at some of his younger political rivals, questioning their record in public office. “Some of them have been given positions here in Kombo. What have they done with those positions?” he asked.
Barrow singled out opposition leader Ousainu Darboe, claiming he had failed to deliver development projects in his own hometown of Dobo. “If you can’t do anything for your people, who will you do it for?” Barrow said, adding that Darboe’s long career had not yielded tangible results.
He further criticized Talib Bensouda, the mayor of Kanifing, questioning his ability to lead the nation. “A chairman or mayor who could not collect garbage from a single region; how can that person build a school or a market? Can that person build a road or provide you with electricity?” Barrow asked.
The president dismissed recent polls suggesting he could lose in the West Coast Region, insisting that his National People’s Party would prevail in December’s election. He vowed to leave politics altogether if, as he put it, politicians “still learning to walk” managed to defeat him in the region.
Barrow also downplayed the significance of the UDP-led coalition, describing some of its member groups as politically obscure. He claimed that his grassroots “Yai Compins” movement commands larger followings than several organizations within the coalition, and accused the UDP of creating some of the smaller movements simply to bolster its alliance.
As the election approaches, Barrow urged Gambians to be cautious in their choices, warning against what he described as mistakes made in other countries where voters elected “the wrong people.”
Source: The Point
