People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) is a
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
. Since 2005, it has been part of the
National Alliance for Democracy and Development The National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) is a three-party coalition (previously five parties) of Gambian opposition political parties. It was officially launched January 2005 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (M ...
(NADD). It was part of
Coalition 2016 Gambia Coalition 2016, was a coalition of seven Gambian political parties, civil society groups and one independent candidate created to field and support a unity candidate for the Gambian opposition in the 2016 Gambian presidential election. The ...
in the 2016 presidential election, whose 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 ...
, defeated long-time incumbent
Yahya Jammeh Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the leader of The Gambia from 1994 to 2017, firstly as chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 199 ...
. The PDOIS also publishes a party newspaper, ''
Foroyaa ''Foroyaa'' is a newspaper located in Serrekunda, the Gambia. It was first launched in July 1987, and is owned by the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), an opposition political party A political party ...
'', which was noted for its opposition to the Jammeh regime.


History

The party was founded on 31 July 1986. It emerged from an earlier group, the People's Movement for Independence against Neo-Colonialism and Capitalism in The Gambia (PMINCC), whose members included
Halifa Sallah Halifa Sallah (born 1953) is a Gambian politician who is currently a member of the National Assembly representing Serekunda, and the secretary-general of the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS). He served as a s ...
, Sam Sarr, Amie Sillah, Adama Bah and Momodou Sarho. The PMINCC were also believed to be the publishers of the newspaper ''The Voice of the Future'', and six members were put on trial for its publication in 1984, although all were acquitted. Initially, the PDOIS had no official leader until December 1997, when
Sidia Jatta Sidia Sana Jatta (born 1945) is a Gambian politician, academic, and writer. Early life and education A Mandinka, Jatta was born in Sutukoba, Wuli District. He was educated locally and at Nungua Secondary School, near Accra, Ghana from 1961 ...
was chosen as its first leader. It began publishing its own newspaper, ''
Foroyaa ''Foroyaa'' is a newspaper located in Serrekunda, the Gambia. It was first launched in July 1987, and is owned by the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), an opposition political party A political party ...
'', in July 1987, where it was critical of the pro-Western foreign policy of
Dawda Jawara Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (16 May 1924 – 27 August 2019) was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of the Gambia from 1970 to 1994. Jawara was born in Barajally, MacCarthy Island ...
, and opposed the
Senegambia Confederation Senegambia, officially the Senegambia Confederation or Confederation of Senegambia, was a loose confederation in the late 20th century between the West African countries of Senegal and its neighbour the Gambia, which is almost completely surr ...
. In 1987, it put forward five candidates in the parliamentary election, but all were defeated. In 1992, it put forward 14 candidates, but again, all were defeated. Jatta stood in the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
that year, and came fourth, winning 5.24% of the vote. The PDOIS was not banned following the 1994 coup by
Yahya Jammeh Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the leader of The Gambia from 1994 to 2017, firstly as chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 199 ...
as it did not publicly denounce it, but both Jatta and Sallah turned down the cabinet posts they were offered. Jatta won 3% of the vote in the 1996 and 2001 presidential elections. In the 1997 parliamentary election, Jatta won their first seat 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 repre ...
of Wuli West. In 2002, Jatta retained the seat and Sallah additionally won the seat of
Serekunda Serekunda (proper: Sayerr Kunda or Sere Kunda, ar, سيريكوندا, sometimes spelled Serrekunda) is the largest urban centre in The Gambia. It is situated close to the Atlantic coast, south-west of the capital, Banjul, and is formed of nine ...
Central. From 2002 to 2007, PDOIS was the largest opposition party in the National Assembly, and Sallah served as Leader of the Opposition. In 2005, the PDOIS joined the
National Alliance for Democracy and Development The National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) is a three-party coalition (previously five parties) of Gambian opposition political parties. It was officially launched January 2005 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (M ...
(NADD), and Sallah was selected as the NADD candidate in the 2006 presidential election, but only won 6% of the vote. In the 2007 parliamentary election, NADD only won one seat, Jatta's, with Sallah losing his.


Leadership

The party is led by a Central Committee, which is the highest working body of the party. It is composed of the following positions: * Chairperson –
Sidia Jatta Sidia Sana Jatta (born 1945) is a Gambian politician, academic, and writer. Early life and education A Mandinka, Jatta was born in Sutukoba, Wuli District. He was educated locally and at Nungua Secondary School, near Accra, Ghana from 1961 ...
* Vice Chairperson * Secretary General –
Halifa Sallah Halifa Sallah (born 1953) is a Gambian politician who is currently a member of the National Assembly representing Serekunda, and the secretary-general of the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS). He served as a s ...
* Secretary to the Political Bureau * Secretary to the Information Bureau – Sam Sarr * Secretary to the Organizing Bureau * Secretary to the Bureau on Women and Child Affairs – Amie Sillah * Secretary to the Youth Bureau * Treasurer * Auditor * Other members as the party Congress determines


Electoral history


Presidential elections


National Assembly elections


References


External links


PDOIS website
{{Authority control Political parties in the Gambia Socialist parties in Africa *Main