Samba Jallow is a Gambian politician who has served in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

representing Niamina Dankunku since 2012. A member of the

National Reconciliation Party The National Reconciliation Party is a political party in The Gambia. It was founded in 1996, and is led by its founder, Hamat Bah. History The National Reconciliation Party was founded in 1996 by Hamat Bah as part of his intention to run f ...

, Jallow also served as Minority Leader in the National Assembly from 2012 to 2022.

Political career

Jallow is a member of the

. In the 2007 parliamentary election to the

National Assembly of the Gambia The National Assembly of the Gambia is the unicameral legislature of the Gambia. The authorisation for the National Assembly lies in Chapter VII of the Constitution of the Gambia. It is composed of 53 members directly elected through first past ...

, he contested the Niamina Dankuku constituency, winning 946 votes to Essa Saidykhan, the APRC's candidate's 1047 votes. In the 2012 parliamentary election, however, Jallow was elected as the member for Niamina Dankuku. He was also appointed as Minority Leader in the National Assembly. In July, he said that the government is deliberately trying to dismantle the

Gambia Radio & Television Service The Gambia Radio & Television Service is the national broadcaster of the West African state of the Gambia. Gambia Radio & Television Service currently broadcasts in English and native local languages. History The history of GRTS stems from the m ...

. He said, "definitely, it is the government that is making the institution to die." In a debate over the coming year's budget in December 2015, Jallow expressed his concerns over the Gambia's "ill economy". In particular, he expressed concerns over the country's rising national debt and trade deficit. He noted that the government "will also have to engage in agricultural diversification" and that it ought to repair its relations with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

to regain access to its foreign aid. He concluded that the Gambia will "continue to face problems if we do not do some of these adjustments." He criticised Jammeh's government on a number of issues throughout 2016. In July, he urged the National Assembly to table a motion of no confidence in Jammeh, under Section, "which deals with mental or physical incapacity of the President." In August, he challenged prematurely calling the Gambia an Islamic State as it was contrary to a specific clause in the constitution. In October, he condemned the unilateral removal of the Gambia from membership of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

. On 1 December 2016, incumbent Yahya Jammeh lost the 2016 Gambian presidential election to coalition candidate

Adama Barrow Adama Barrow ( ff, 𞤀𞥄𞤣𞤢𞤥𞤢 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤪𞤮, Aadama Baaro, born 15 February 1965) is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village ...

. Following the surprise acceptance of the results by Jammeh, Jallow said, "I will take this opportunity to thank the outgoing President, considering what would have happened if he refused to concede to defeat, this country would have been in chaos." However, Jammeh later rescinded this and refused to relinquish control. Speaking in the National Assembly on 29 December 2016, he said that it would be better to resolve the crisis as a family rather than waiting for outside military intervention. He later explained that National Assembly members opted to extend Jammeh's term by declaring a state of emergency due to the threat that they would lose their gratuity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jallow, Samba Gambian democracy activists National Reconciliation Party politicians Living people Members of the National Assembly of the Gambia Year of birth missing (living people)