Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Seedy SK Njie, has described the 2026 presidential election as a critical moment for Gambians, framing it as a choice between peace, stability, and progress on one hand, and division on the other.
Speaking during a political meeting in Kerr Serign, Njie reaffirmed the ruling National People’s Party’s (NPP) commitment to maintaining peace and development in the country. “2026 will be a defining moment for Gambians to choose between development, peace and stability, progress, respect, cohesion and not holding onto ridiculing people, mockery, insults, and belittling people,” Njie said.
The Deputy Speaker accused the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) of promoting insults and ridicule in the political space, adding: “This is what the UDP is good at.”
Njie outlined what he described as key achievements of the NPP-led government, including efforts to issue national identity cards to Gambians living abroad. “The president together with his cabinet deemed it necessary that they cannot sit to watch Gambians in the diaspora without national identification cards,” he said. “The rights that Gambians have to access ID cards in their own country is the same right enjoyed by those in the diaspora.”
He revealed that immigration officers have been deployed to several countries to facilitate the process. “We deployed Immigration officers in Mauritania to provide ID cards to thousands of Gambians residing there. We have similar numbers of Gambians in Togo, America, Germany, Belgium, and other countries, and we are creating a mechanism to ensure they are provided with identity cards,” Njie said.
The Deputy Speaker stressed that all Gambians enjoy equal rights regardless of their background. Responding to a recent protest organised by the UDP, Njie argued that the demonstration was proof that the NPP remains the best option for the country’s future.
“The United Democratic Party’s recent protest is a clear indication that the National People’s Party is the solution to the problems of this country and we are solving them. It also indicates that God forbid, if the UDP had its way, their interest would be to select who is a Gambian and who is not,” he claimed.
The remarks come as political parties in The Gambia gear up for the 2026 presidential race, which many observers expect to be fiercely contested.
