THE IMPARTIAL REFEREE AND THE ANGRY VOTER: DEMOCRACY’S TWIN PILLARS FOR DECEMBER 5TH

Professor Mballow, social & political analyst

In every democratic transition, two actors determine the outcome: the institution that manages the election, and the citizen who casts the vote. As The Gambia approaches the December 5th Presidential Election, both must play their roles with integrity and courage.

To the IEC: Impartiality is Not Neutrality of Convenience

The Independent Electoral Commission is the referee of our democracy. A referee does not need to be loved. He needs to be trusted.

Scholarly literature on electoral governance is clear: public confidence in results depends less on who wins and more on whether the process was perceived as fair. When the IEC is impartial, even losers accept defeat. When it is perceived as biased, even winners lack legitimacy.

I therefore urge the IEC to uphold strict impartiality in December:

Firstly, equal access to registration, accreditation and media coverage for all candidates.

Secondly, transparent handling of the voters roll, ballot papers, and results collation.

Thirdly, firm resistance to executive interference, whether subtle or overt.

Fourthly, prompt and public clarification of rumours to prevent misinformation.

Impartiality must be visible, verifiable, and consistent from Banjul to Basse. The IEC’s legacy will not be written by press releases, but by the credibility of December 5th.

To the Gambian Voter: The Legitimacy of the Vote of Anger

In political science, we speak of retrospective voting: voters judging incumbents based on performance. When a government fails to serve citizens as expected, anger is not irrational. It is rational accountability.

A vote of anger, properly understood, is not violence. It is not tribalism. It is the peaceful, constitutional withdrawal of consent.

Gambians have legitimate reasons for democratic anger:

The rising cost of living that has eroded household dignity.

Youth unemployment that has turned hope into frustration and forced dangerous migration.

Persistent weaknesses in health, education, water and electricity despite promises.

Corruption perceptions and lack of accountability in public service.

When citizens vote on the basis of these lived realities, they are practicing democracy in its purest form. They are saying to the current administration: you were given a contract, you did not deliver.

I therefore urge Gambians, especially young people and first time voters, to transform their frustration into turnout. Do not stay home in anger. Go to the polls in anger. Let your ballot be your statement.

Anger without voting is complaint. Anger with voting is change.

A Fair Process, A Fearless Choice

My appeal is balanced and scholarly: I ask the IEC to be fearlessly impartial, and I ask the citizen to be fearlessly evaluative.

If the referee is fair and the voter is brave, December 5th will not just be another election. It will be a democratic correction.

The future of The Gambia belongs not to those who hold power, but to those who hold the voters card and use it wisely.

Prof. Mballow

Chairman, National Development Association

Chairman, Coalition 2026

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