Aleke Aleke in Abuja
A senior Gambian lawmaker and ECOWAS parliamentarian, Billay Tunkara, has defended President Adama Barrow’s eligibility to seek another term in office, insisting that The Gambia’s constitution contains no provision limiting presidential tenure.
Tunkara, who is the Majority Leader in the Gambian Parliament, Third Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament and leader of Gambia’s delegation, made the remarks amid growing debate ahead of the country’s presidential election scheduled for December 5, 2026.
- Advertisement -
He criticised recent comments by Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr., Chairman of the ECOWAS Parliament Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and APRM, who had advised President Barrow against seeking a third term through what he described as “constitutional technicalities.”
Snowe Jr. had also drawn comparisons with former Senegalese President Macky Sall, who chose not to seek another term.
Reacting to the comments, Tunkara said the Liberian lawmaker was creating unnecessary political tension in The Gambia.
“Let me clear the air,” Tunkara said in an interview. “The chairman of Political Affairs seems to be speaking as if he is voicing the position of the bureau of the Community Parliament. That does not give him the latitude to speak as if his statement has been sanctioned by this Parliament.”
He added: “I am a deputy speaker with overall oversight within the parliamentary structure. People should desist from making such irresponsible statements.
When speaking, he should reference himself as from Liberia, rather than trying to mislead Gambian voters.”
Tunkara also revisited previous disagreements with Snowe Jr., particularly regarding efforts to establish a special court to investigate alleged human rights abuses committed during the administration of former President Yahya Jammeh.
“He refused and kicked against it,” Tunkara said. “The party that suffered most is the UDP. Snowe Jr. represents Liberia in the ECOWAS Parliament, yet he campaigned against a high court system that would have looked at crimes committed outside our jurisdiction.”
According to him, The Gambia currently lacks adequate laws to prosecute offences such as torture and other grave crimes, adding that the proposed court would have addressed those legal gaps.
“I do not expect someone who denied victims proper compensation to now lecture us,” he said.
Reaffirming his position on the constitutional debate, Tunkara declared: “Our constitution is very clear—there is no term limit. President Barrow is working to ensure we have a constitution that will move Gambia into the Third Republic.”
He further argued that Snowe Jr.’s comments could wrongly create the impression that the ECOWAS Parliament had taken an official position against Barrow’s possible re-election bid.
“I want to assure the public that his statement is not a true reflection of the ECOWAS Parliament, nor any resolution passed by it.
He made his own statement loosely and recklessly,” Tunkara said.
