Businesses take day off as Gambians elect president

By Agence de Presse Africaine Last updated Dec 6, 2021

APA-Banjul Shops and other businesses remain closed in urban districts of The Gambia where voting is well underway to elect the country’s new leader for the next five years. Mainland Africa’s smallest country was plunged into a post-electoral crisis the last time its citizens went to the polls to elect Mr. Barrow in December 2016. Jittery consumers came to the…

APA-Banjul (The Gambia) Shops and other businesses remain closed in urban districts of The Gambia where voting is well underway to elect the country’s new leader for the next five years.

Market activities in Serrekunda which has the country’s biggest concentration of businesses have slowed down as Gambians exercise caution.

It has been a slow business day for the few shops in Serrekunda and outlying settlements that chose not to observe the public holiday on Saturday as the state security agencies urge peace and tranquility during and after polling.

There has also been unusually light traffic in the usually busy Westfield intersection leading to the heart of the business district.

Whole lines of textile shops, mobile phone and other businesses appear deserted with few people walking the streets.

Gambians had resorted to panic-buying days before the nervy presidential election, which many say is the closest race for the country’s top job in a generation.

Saturday’s poll has been largely peaceful and without incident.

Mainland Africa’s smallest country was plunged into a post-electoral crisis the last time its citizens went to the polls to elect Mr. Barrow in December 2016.

There are fears that this country of 1.8 million people could once again descend into a post-electoral standoff, given the strong rhetoric from a grueling three-week election campaign.

Jittery consumers came to the market in droves and left carting off up to six bags of rice and other provisions with the intention of stockpiling them at home, hoping they will outlast the uncertainty of the post-December 4 presidential election.

As a result of panic buying, stocks of vegetables, fish, meat and even ordinary pepper have been swept away by consumers jittery about what will happen when the presidential poll winner is declared after the poll.

Price instability which had been the concern of many Gambians during Barrow’s five years in power has been a hit for some of his rivals while on the campaign trail.

While Barrow has boasted improved economic performance under his watch, his opponents point to the drop in the value of the local currency, the dalasi especially against regional and other international currencies such as the pound and dollar as a tell-all sign of imcompetence to reverse its fortune.

Hundreds of thousands of Gambians have been heading to the polls on Saturday to choose one from among the six contenders for the presidency.

It is the first presidential election since Barrow defeated Jammeh who was forced into exile in 2017 after his refusal to concede plunged the country into a month-long political crisis.

Barrow’s other challengers include his political Godfather-turned foe Ousainou Darboe, who has been a presidential election candidate four times between 1996 and 2011.

The others are Mamma Kandeh who came third in the 2016 presidential race, veteran politician Halifa Sallah, famed lawyer Essa Faal and former civil aviation authority chief Abdoulie Jammeh.

WN/as/APA