(JollofNews) – President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia is embarking on a nationwide campaign in the run up to next month’s presidential election.
Mr Jammeh 51, who has been governing the Gambia since July 1994 and is seeking a fifth presidential term is facing one of his toughest challenge in the polls.
And in his bid to increase the percentage of his votes, he is embarking on a two-week long campaign which will take him to all the 53 constituencies in the seven administrative areas of the country.
Mr Jammeh who is accompanied by government officials and party supporters, will kick off his campaign this afternoon in the North Bank Region, where he will unveil more development programmes and policies for the country.
The Gambia with a population of less than two million, will hold presidential election on 1st December with 886, 578 Gambians expected to vote, according official figures from the electoral commission.
Mr Jammeh is being challenged in the polls by Mamma Kandeh of the Gambia Democratic Congress and Adama Barrow who is heading a coalition of opposition parties including the Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), the National Reconciliation Party (NRP), the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC), the National Convention Party (NCP), the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) the Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress (GPDP).
The Gambia operates a simple majority vote system. The electoral commission has this year introduced an ‘on the spot vote count system’ to increase transparency and a candidate who has a simple majority of votes would be declared winner.
His campaign message is simple: Jammeh will lie that he will turn Gambia into Switzerland – free education, free healthcare, free food. He will conveniently forget that Gambia is now the poorest country in West Africa.
When his lies fail he will demean, insult and threaten people.
Jammeh’s campaign will be full of military-aged people from the security services and school children.