Call for national reconciliation and peaceful advancement of The Gambia

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By FATOUMATA JALLOW TAMBAJANG

Dear Presidential candidates and fellow ordinary citizens, as we have come to the closure of the results, it is my moral responsibility to humbly call you to thank God Almighty for answering our collective supplications for a peaceful election. I also humbly call you to continue praying for a peaceful post-election era by guiding both the eventual winner and other contestants to embrace our obvious instrumental coalition and peace-oriented context.

It is important for both the winner and other contestants to promote these values to facilitate the nurturing of our collectively hard-fought, coalition-anchored and globally celebrated democracy.

I strongly recommend that the eventual winner set up an inclusive national peace infrastructure with an effective National Social Dialogue Commission to facilitate the consolidation of our democracy and national cohesion processes.

I also recommend that the contestants who are challenging the IEC results take a legal recourse rather than allowing violence by advising their supporters and militants to stay calm and allow due process by embracing our National Reconciliation, Inclusive and Peaceful Advancement of our beloved Gambia.

I pray that God guides us to uphold our National Heritage and Anthem for national unity, peace and shared prosperity. On this note, I thank you political leaders, fellow citizens, election observers and development partners for your invaluable support in the election, in the democratization and development processes, Aameen/Amen!

About the Author
Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang is a former Vice President of The Gambia and Minister of Women’s Affairs from February 2017 to June 2018, under President Adama Barrow.
Mrs Jallow Tambajang is a Gambian politician, mediator, women empowerment agent, peace activist, former UNDP gender and development expert.
She served as the chair of the Gambia National Women’s Council and an advisor to Dawda Jawara, the first President of The Gambia.
She also served Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare from 1994 to 1995 in the cabinet of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council under former President Yahya Jammeh.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Monitor’s editorial stance.