Are we thinking of a referendum or an early Presidential election? Should we seek to have such a referendum by June 2019 and a possible general election by the end of 2019?
At the very least, people ought to be asked if Mr. Barrow should honour the Coalition agreement and serve for 3 years or 5. Mr. However, Barrow and the Coalition Partners cannot and must not tell us that he (Mr. Barrow) has not fulfilled the ambitions of the Coalition agreement and that he should be allowed to stay as President for 5 years.
If the Coalition Partners have been following Mr. Barrow’s performance, they should know that Mr. Barrow will not deliver on the Coalition agreement even if they allowed him 6 years, twice the agreed time period.
Indeed no such provision was ever communicated to the electorate during the 2016 elections and that given Mr. Barrow’s uninspired leadership and very poor performance relating to his NDP 2018-2020
If Mr. Barrow insists on serving for 5 years, he will be deceiving his Coalition Partners and the whole country. Such blatant and unacceptable dishonesty would make the formation of another Coalition government, which remove Former President Jammeh and could in the future help us remove others who fail to deliver towards the aspirations of the citizenry.
Clearly, the current leadership and all of the Coalition Partners must know that they will not be on the right side of history for supporting a failed contract agreement based on principles of common interest. Such action will not serve the country well in the long term.
Therefore, the push for a general election in 2019 serves the coalition right of which President Barrow is signatory and campaigned for before the presidential elections of 2016. We must do away with our apparent affinity for mediocrity; we can do better, much better indeed.