As we get closer to the presidential elections date of December 5, the political temperature is rising to a dangerous level, apparently because of certain actions being contemplated by the executive.

It appears that President Adama Barrow and his team are so eager to retain power that they are ready to use all available means to ensure that he remains at the State House regardless of the possible consequences.

However, while it is quite welcome to hear President Barrow himself promise that his government would ensure peaceful and credible elections, but some of the scheming associated with his administration do not seem to be compatible with such a promise.

While it was perfectly legal to set up the Commission of Inquiry into the Conduct of all Local Government Councils, which went on to unearth serious corruption and mismanagement within the local government structure, but it appears that the commission’s report is being deliberately weaponised against some of his opponents in the forthcoming presidential elections.

Even the surreptitious release of the government white paper, shortly after the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) released the timetable for the nomination of candidates and barely three days before the start of nominations, seems to indicate an ulterior motive.

Even the type of language used in the government White Paper clearly point to a deliberate attempt to not only destabilize the opposition camp, but to also bar someone like the Mayor of the Kanifing Municipality, Talib Ahmed Bensouda from contesting the elections.

While it is quite obvious to anyone who followed the events that preceded the setting up of the Commission of Inquiry in May 2023, one would not fail to realise that it was primarily aimed at Mayor Bensouda.

We all witnessed the numerous earlier attempts to use all available means to get him removed from office, including using the then Chief Executive Officer of the Municipality Sainabou Martin Sonko against him, an attempt to set up a ministerial commission of inquiry to investigate the KMC and eventually trying to use an old law to appoint an interim administration to run the affairs of the councils a few months prior to the local government elections, the legality of which was successfully challenged by Mayor Bensouda and his colleagues.

However, as the government was still hell bent on finding means to get rid of him, they seem to have been left with hardly any other option but to set up the Commission of Inquiry involving all the other councils and municipalities, apparently because their motive would have been quite obvious if they had restricted it to the KMC alone.

Now that it has become almost quite obvious to anyone who cares for the truth that the Barrow administration’s ultimate objective is to stop Bensouda from contesting the elections, the whole attention has now shifted to what the IEC would do on the 7th November when he submits his papers for nomination.

Are they going to maintain their assumed independence and nominate all those qualified to be nominated or are they going to succumb to apparent pressure from the executive ? Let us however hope that rather than listen to advice from the executive, the IEC would get proper and independent legal advice before taking any rash decision because any such move could have the potential to lead to trouble.

It is certainly not in the interest of neither the IEC nor the government or anyone else involved, if any such action would lead to political violence simply because it is aimed at disqualifying anyone as a result of executive pressure.

It is quite obvious that the international community is also closely monitoring the situation leading to the elections and they would no doubt be concerned about the steps that the Barrow administration seems to be taking against its opponents which could have serious implications for the fairness and credibility of the elections.

By D. A. Jawo