The deputy spokesman of the Gambia’s former governing APRC party has clarified that the party’s supreme leader has got no powers to dissolve its executive.
Dodou Jah said the APRC as a party has got an elected executive which according to the party’s law can only be dissolve at a congress by a two third majority vote.
The APRC is rocked by internal division after the party’s executive overwhelmingly voted last month to enter into an alliance President Barrow’s party ahead of December’s presidential election.
Mr Jammeh who is living in exile in Equatorial Guinea since his surprised defeat in the 2016 elections by President Barrow, said he was not consulted by the party’s executive and had never given them his blessings to go into alliance with Barrow.
But Dodou Jah insisted that Jammeh was never kept in the dark about the decision of the executive.
“The decision to form alliance with Barrow was discussed with Jammeh even before the formation of the NPP,” Mr Jah told Paradise TV.
Mr Jah reminded Jammeh that the APRC is governed by laws and as a political party it belongs to the people of the Gambia.
“The APRC does not belong to one man,” he said.
“It is not a one man party and one man cannot hire and fire an executive or make unilateral decisions. The electoral commission would never allow that kind of party to operate in the country.
“The position of supreme leader does not exist in our party’s constitution. We gave the ceremonial title to Jammeh out of respect but he has got no powers. Fabakary Tombong Jatta is our party leader according to our constitution. He is not an interim leader, but party leader. That is what is on the records of the electoral commission.”
