By Yankuba Jallow
Continuing his lecture marking the 40th anniversary of the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), former Secretary General and founding member Halifa Sallah said the party gradually came to understand the realities of Gambian politics after contesting elections in the late 1980s.
He said party members realised that electoral success depended not only on ideas but also on traditional power structures that influenced voting patterns across the country.
“We began to study Gambian politics,” Sallah said. “When you go to the villages, you discover that they are stratified. Every community has its own power structures.”
He said influential figures within villages often aligned themselves with the ruling party, making it difficult for opposition parties to gain support.
“The people with authority in the villages would normally link themselves with the ruling party because that was how they believed they could preserve their influence.”
According to him, opposition parties often received warm public receptions during political meetings, but those gatherings did not necessarily translate into votes.
“They would welcome you. The praise singers would sing for you. The drummers would beat their drums. The kanyaleng groups would perform and everybody would laugh.”
“You would feel that you had won the whole village.”
“But when the votes were counted, you would hear one vote, two votes, and you would begin to ask yourself where the crowd had gone.”
Sallah said those experiences convinced PDOIS that genuine political change required sustained civic education rather than large political rallies.
“So regardless of who came, what fanfare was organised or what benachin was cooked, all that had no bearing on the politics of this country.”
“That is why this country never changed through the ballot box until 2016.”
He continued: “It was not changed simply by a political party.”
Sallah said the party therefore remained committed to educating citizens instead of pursuing shortcuts to political office.
“Our journey had to continue because we were convinced that only the people themselves could bring about the right type of change.”
“You cannot go through the back door.”
“You have to spend time with the people and help educate them.”
“That is what PDOIS did.”
He recalled that party members travelled extensively across the country holding meetings in communities every day.
“We would have as many as sixteen meetings a day, from morning until nightfall.”
“We would spend about thirty minutes in one place before moving to another community.”
He said the approach led some observers to question whether PDOIS genuinely wanted political power.
“Many people wondered whether we were really interested in power.”
“For us, it was about empowering the people, not about us having power.”
“If we had wanted power for ourselves, that was not the way to go.”
“You simply get close to the ruling party.”
“They see you as an intellectual.”
“They appoint you to positions of authority and you quickly find yourself in power.”
“But we were not interested in getting power for ourselves.”
“We were interested in empowering the people so they could liberate themselves.”
Sallah said that philosophy distinguished PDOIS from many other political organisations.
“That is the difference between PDOIS and those who simply establish opposition parties.”
He said members devoted significant financial resources to sustaining the movement.
“We had to build resources.”
“We established a newspaper.”
“We sold newspapers.”
“We raised money and invested it back into PDOIS.”
Sallah said many of the founding members were civil servants before the party was formed.
“Before establishing PDOIS, we were working as civil servants.”
“One-third of our salaries went to our families.”
“One-third was for our own needs.”
“The remaining third went into building our organisation.”
He said members purchased vehicles and supported colleagues working in rural communities to keep the movement active.
“We bought transport.”
“We helped members working in the rural areas so that the work would continue.”
According to Sallah, many people mistakenly believed the party had wealthy backers.
“People thought PDOIS was a very rich party.”
“It was born out of sacrifice.”
He said some members sold their personal property to finance the party’s activities.
“Some sold their compounds.”
“We ourselves had acquired compounds, and eventually we sold them to establish the party.”
“To liberate a country is not an easy task.”
“It demands sacrifice.”
“It demands sweat.”
“It can even lead to prison.”
“But we believed the suffering of our people had to end.”
“They had to be free.”
Sallah then recalled a song frequently sung by members during difficult moments.
“If you cut my hands, I will still hold on.”
“If you cut my lips, I will still speak.”
“If you cut my feet, I will still march on.”
“No turning back.”
He said those words reflected the determination of party members throughout the years.
“That consistency was necessary because we believed in the cause.”
“We were committed to it.”
He said election results never discouraged the organisation.
“We never judged ourselves by election results.”
“Every election result simply showed us how far we had travelled and how much further we still had to go.”
According to him, the party’s objective was always to build national unity.
“Our goal was to empower the whole nation.”
“When people become united, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or gender, nobody can dominate them.”
“Then the resources of the country will return to the people.”
“They will live in liberty, dignity and prosperity.”
Sallah said PDOIS believed every citizen deserved self-respect.
“We always maintained that every citizen must have self-esteem if the nation is to have self-esteem.”
“The citizens constitute the nation.”
“Therefore, they must live in liberty, dignity and prosperity.”
He said the party established local communities of members throughout the country and promoted self-reliance.
“We built communities of PDOIS members everywhere.”
“We provided resources.”
“We encouraged farming.”
“We provided donkeys so people could cultivate the land.”
“Our objective was to build a self-reliant base.”
Sallah said many teachers and young professionals joined the movement.
“There were many teachers.”
“There were many young people.”
“Across the country, young people were beginning to embrace PDOIS.”
“It was becoming a powerful force.”
Turning to the political developments of 1994, Sallah recalled that many supporters initially viewed the military takeover as the change the country had been seeking.
“Then the coup d’état of 1994 happened.”
“Many young people felt that this was the change we had been calling for.”
“They believed those who carried out the coup had now created the opportunity for us to take charge of the country.”
Sallah said some members left the party because they believed the military takeover represented a revolution.
“When they saw that we did not join that process, many of our members decided to follow what they considered a revolution.”
He said PDOIS refused to support military rule because it believed sovereignty belonged only to the people.
“Our guiding principle was that sovereignty resides in the people of The Gambia.”
“Nobody can override that sovereignty.”
“The only change worth supporting is the change that makes the people sovereign.”
He said the party maintained that even after a coup, power should quickly be returned to citizens.
“Even if a coup takes place, those who take power should immediately ensure that the people take charge of their country.”
“They should educate the people.”
“They should enlighten them.”
“They should empower them.”
“They should guard the process.”
“If the people fail to take charge, power merely shifts from one elite group to another.”
Sallah said PDOIS therefore urged the military government to restore constitutional governance.
“We decided to call upon those who took over to restore the sovereignty of the people.”
He said that position resulted in confrontations with the authorities.
“There were many contradictions.”
“There were arrests.”
“Many things happened.”
“But we regarded every arrest as a test of who we were and what we believed.”
Sallah said the party consistently demanded a return to democratic rule.
“We said we must return to constitutional rule.”
“We said we must return to elections.”
“And eventually we did.”
He said that once constitutional government returned, the choice rested with Gambian voters.
“It was then left to the Gambian people to choose.”
“That was their responsibility.”
Referring to the elections held after the transition, Sallah said politics became a contest between the former ruling establishment and the new administration.
“In 1996 and 1997, two major forces struggled for power.”
“The former ruling party supported its own candidate.”
“The new ruling party supported its own candidate.”
“We remained in the middle.”
“Still telling Gambians that the wealth belongs to them.”
“All they needed was leadership that would return that wealth to the people.”
He said PDOIS later supported coalition politics because it believed opposition unity could help create democratic change.
“We built coalitions.”
“We built coalitions because we realised that people are attracted by numbers.”
“If they could not yet change through understanding, then we could build a movement that would create change and guide the process.”
Sallah said that strategy eventually contributed to the political developments of 2016.
“That is what happened in 2016.”
“The objective was to use three years of education, advocacy and participation to ensure that the people themselves took charge.”
He added, however, that the process did not fully unfold as the party had envisioned.
“But that did not happen.”
Sallah said PDOIS would use its 40th anniversary celebrations to honour the thousands of supporters who had contributed to the party’s journey over the past four decades.
“As we commemorate forty years of PDOIS, we celebrate the tens of thousands of people who have taken part in this journey of self-discovery and national discovery.”
He said the organisation’s founding message remained unchanged.
“We began by saying: know yourself, know your country, know your continent and know your world.”
“Then you will become the architect of your own destiny.”
“We still stand by that message.”
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