Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The UNITE Party has set an ambitious target of securing more than 20 women in The Gambia’s National Assembly, promising a major shift in female political representation if the party comes to power.
Nenneh Freda Gomez, Deputy Party Leader of UNITE, made the declaration during an interview on West Coast Radio’s Coffee Time with Peter Gomez, where she outlined the party’s vision for greater participation of women and young people in Gambian politics.
Gomez argued that women have for too long been confined to roles such as political mobilization and campaign activities, while key decision-making positions remain dominated by men.
She said UNITE intends to challenge that political culture by deliberately creating opportunities for women to occupy leadership positions from the grassroots level to the national executive.
“Women are far better off than just being mobilizers,” Gomez said, arguing that women should have a meaningful voice in political decision-making.
According to her, UNITE’s structures are designed to begin at the village level and expand through constituencies and regions to the national level, with women deliberately encouraged to compete for leadership positions.
She said women within the party are already occupying positions that have traditionally been dominated by men, including campaign management and constituency leadership.
Gomez said she herself secured the position of Deputy Party Leader after competing against male contenders, stressing that the position was not handed to her simply to create an appearance of gender inclusion.
“Positions are never given to us on a silver plate. We earn them,” she said.
She further maintained that women within UNITE have the freedom to challenge senior male leaders and participate in internal debates without being intimidated or silenced.
“Nobody will shut you down. Nobody will intimidate you or threaten you to suppress whatever you have to say,” Gomez said, describing UNITE’s internal culture as different from what she claimed is common in other political parties.
Gomez pointed to the current composition of the National Assembly as evidence of what she considers inadequate female representation.
The National Assembly currently has 58 members, including 53 elected members and five nominated members, with only five women represented.
She described the figure as “a very minute percentage” and said UNITE wants to dramatically increase women’s presence in the legislature.
“If I were the one, I would nominate five,” she said, arguing that greater female representation is necessary to strengthen women’s voices in Parliament.
Looking ahead to 2031, Gomez said she wants UNITE’s record to be measured against a clear increase in women’s political representation.
“I will come back here and tell you that when I was here five years ago, we talked about having five women in Parliament. Now we are talking about having 20-something women in Parliament,” she said.
She also projected a significant increase in the number of women serving in the Cabinet and heading public institutions under a UNITE-led government.
Gomez said the party would aim to have women occupy a substantial share of Cabinet positions and leadership roles in state-owned institutions.
Beyond gender representation, Gomez said UNITE would seek to change how political appointments are made if it assumes power.
She rejected the idea that party supporters should automatically receive government positions simply because they helped the party win an election.
“It has to be based on competence,” she said.
Gomez said she would personally oppose appointments based solely on party loyalty and argued that government positions should go to people with the necessary qualifications, experience, and ability to deliver results.
“I, for one, will be opposed to that. I, for one, will advocate against that,” she said, referring to appointing people simply because they are UNITE supporters.
She added that she would have no problem being passed over for a government position if another person was more qualified or experienced.
“My belief is not about my personality, but about the people that we will be serving,” Gomez said.
Gomez also presented UNITE as a youth-driven political project, arguing that young Gambians should not only be mobilized during election campaigns but should also participate in political decision-making throughout the political cycle.
She said UNITE’s membership is largely made up of young people but stressed that the party also has older members whose experience and wisdom are important to its political project.
According to Gomez, UNITE’s approach is to combine the experience of older generations with the technological knowledge and new ideas of young Gambians.
She said the party’s UNITE Academy is being used to promote civic education and political awareness, with the aim of encouraging citizens to become active stakeholders rather than simply voting during elections.
Gomez said UNITE also intends to remain politically active beyond election periods instead of disappearing until the next campaign.
“We are not only a political party to canvass for votes and win elections,” she said.
The party now faces the challenge of turning its promises of greater female representation, youth participation, and competence-based appointments into measurable political practice if it succeeds at the polls.
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