The European Union including two of its member states – Britain and Germany, and the United States have been told not to interfere in Gambian politics. 

The call was made by Gambian opposition parties – Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) and Gambia Action Party(GAP) – after the Western countries through their embassies issued a communique on Monday urging parliamentarians to vote in favour of the draft constitution.

The draft constitution was rejected by parliamentarians including the opposition APRC party whose representatives overwhelmingly voted against it. 

“We want to remind them that The Gambia is a sovereign and independent state, and they should respect the sovereignty and independence of the Gambian people. We strongly condemn their interference in the internal politics of the country and legislature.

“It is our belief that the parliamentarians are representatives of the people and have the country’s interest at heart at all times. The lawmakers who voted for the bill to pass have reasons for doing so and likewise those who voted against the bill equally have reasons for doing so, and thus, we respect their stance,” APRC said in a statement.

GAP said in a press statement: “We urge the foreign missions in The Gambia to respect the United Nations Convention on good governance and democracy, as well as respect the internal justice and human rights which was ratified by global leaders. 

“We urge them to concentrate on their missionary practices and policies. Gambia has never interfered in any decision-making process in any European country or America, they must not act as if they know better.”

The party added: “We condemn any attempt of the West to interfere or try to influence our decisions. We want to urge them to stop interfering in our affairs. We have smart brains which pave our destiny. We are a sovereign country for God’s seek.

“We must come together in unison as our national security has never been threatened before than now. We believe that the mandate of the people surely resides in our representatives in the parliament. 

“Protecting our national security through sovereignty is a noble cause that GAP will never betray. We urge the President to properly address this and many other issues made by the foreign missions in the Gambia beforehand and failure to do so will only expose his inability and lack of patriotic leadership traits.”