Hamat Bah says Gambia needs proportional voting system

Hamat N.K. Bah, the leader for the National Reconciliation Party (NRP) has emphasised that The Gambia needs a proportional voting system in the electoral process.  He said that the nation’s current electoral system cannot effectively cover for diaspora voting.

He made these remarks on Saturday night at a biennial congress convened by his National Reconciliation Party (NRP) held at Brikamaba, Fuladu District in the Central River Region. The theme for the congress was: ‘Consolidation of the Party Democracy and Inclusive Politics’.

The congress was attended by various cabinet ministers, governors, representatives of other political parties among other supporters.

He said: “Our current electoral system cannot effectively cover for diaspora voting. You cannot talk about diaspora voting a lone, our voting system needs to be overhauled.”

“If you want to cater for diaspora voting, you must also think of the minority religious groups in the country, not only talking about people in the diaspora. Our current system does not cater for that,” he continued.

He stated that it is the electoral system that needs to be amended to cater for both minorities and for diaspora to have the opportunity to vote.

The proportional system of voting he said is where every vote is counted and the list should present, including women and other groups.

Bah, who is also the minister of Lands and Local Government, said that in the whole of Africa, other than South Africa, no other English-speaking country has adopted the minority system of voting.

“Let me make it very clear. We have more Gambians of diaspora in Cassamance, Senegal, Mauritania than you have in Europe and they are Gambians and they have right to be registered to come and vote in this country,” he said.

“Do you think that being in the United Kingdom and America and talking about will exclude those Gambians who have migrated because they have no place to grace their animals and they are Gambians in thousands,” he asked.

He further explained that diaspora voting means for every Gambia living outside the country and Gambian citizens who are all over the sub-region will have the right to vote.

Therefore, he said “let us overhaul the electoral system and embody everybody on board and the blame on members of parliament and castigating government for diaspora voting is stopped.”

He assured that his party will set the agenda together with their partners and the coalition led government and members of parliament to help bring laws to protect the women and to overhaul the electoral system in future to ensure that when they are changed, everybody can see himself in the electoral process of The Gambia.

According to him, The Gambia will never go back to dictatorship and Gambians will never go back to military rule and that no amount of chaos can take Gambians to undemocratic rule.

He called on the youth to learn skills and get prepared to participate in national development, adding that youth are the ones taking up the responsibilities tomorrow, and that without preparation, the youth will find it extremely difficult to take over the leadership.

Source: The Point