The youth leader of the opposition United Democratic Party Haji Suwaneh has said any prediction by pollsters or analysts local, or international, for a Barrow victory in the December 5 election is just mere fallacy, ‘because it will not happen’.
He was reacting to a recent prediction by British firm Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) forecasting a President Adama Barrow victory in the December 5 election.
The EIU said the president might win but with a reduced majority and that his popularly has dwindled.
But according to the UDP youth leader the EIU report could well be a “paid strategy” to discourage ordinary Gambians from voting against the ruling National People’s Party.
“Gambians should not confuse election forecasts for an election result; I can tell you examples all over the world where similar predictions did not see the light of the day. Nigerian opposition leader Atiku Abubakar was tipped to win against Muhammadou Buhari in 2019 but Buhari eventually won. This very firm also initially predicted Biden would defeat Trump but later reversed its course and predicted a Trump victory following Biden’s disastrous debate with Trump,” Suwaneh said.
He went on to allege that the so-called forecast is now being used as NPP and Barrow PR propaganda, a familiar playbook of any ruling party heading for defeat . “These are international PR firms who work for whoever pays them to create a favorable perception; nothing more,” Suwaneh claimed.
According to him, Gambians are “not fools” to vote for a government that has served ten years and failed to provide a new constitution or address the high cost of living, unemployment, power outages and rampant corruption among others .
He insisted that no perception can change the realities affecting Gambians. “Continue paying millions to PR firms while Gambians await you at the polling centers,” Suwaneh tells the ruling party.
NPP alliances
Asked whether NPP is not growing by the day with parties and politicians forming alliances with it, the opposition youth leader said the very fact that the president is going for every little party or movement suggests he is desperate and looking for even a straw to lean on.