People's Progressive Party (The Gambia)

The People's Progressive Party is a political party in the Gambia.[3] It was the dominant ruling party of the House of Representatives and the presidency from 1962 to 1994.[4] The president throughout this time period was Dawda Jawara. The People's Progressive Party lost power after the 1994 Gambian coup d'état, a military coup led by young, junior military officers.[5] The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) then became the dominant party of the Gambia.[6] The People's Progressive Party remains active, but lacking the same level of support it garnered in the 20th century.[7]

People's Progressive Party
LeaderKebba E. Jallow
Founded1959
IdeologyThird Way
Agrarianism
Political positionCentre[1] to centre-left[2]
National Assembly
0 / 58
Website
pppthegambia.com

History

The party was founded in 1959 as the Protectorate People's Party (PPP) and was later changed to the People's Progressive Party.[8] The party won the 1962 general election, and in October 1963, upon the attainment of self-government, their leader, Dawda Jawara, became Prime Minister of the Gambia.[9] With the republican referendum in 1970, Jawara became the first President of the Gambia.[10]

The 1981 Gambian coup d'état attempt was an attempt to overthrow the incumbent government when the PPP was in power. It was a civilian led coup-attempt with some support from the Gambia Field Force. The death toll is debated, being anywhere from 500 to 1,000 lives lost.[11][12] The coup was put down by Senegalese intervention and as a result, Senegal and the Gambia formed the Senegambia Confederation.[11]

The People's Progressive Party lost political power following the 1994 Gambian coup d'état.[13] The coup was carried out by military officers in the Gambian National Army (GNA).[11] It was a bloodless coup that managed to overthrow Dawda Jawara.[13] The Gambia was ruled militarily until 1996 when Yahya Jammeh was elected as president with the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) as his party.[11] The subsequent National Assembly elections brought even more power to the APRC, winning 33 out of the 45 seats.[11]

The People's Progressive Party was banned by the APRC in all subsequent elections; however, it has joined with other opposition parties to form political coalitions.[11] In 2005, the PPP joined the opposition coalition National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD).[14] Then for the 2016 presidential election, PPP joined the Coalition 2016, where Adama Barrow was declared the coalition's candidate and subsequently won.[15]

Ideology

The People's Progressive Party was created by rural populations as a reaction against urban areas exerting control over the political arena post-colonialism.[16]

The People's Progressive Party's website currently states, "The PPP believes that a less pervasive and intrusive government as opposed to the current over-centralized and authoritarian regime is necessary in order to release the creative energies of the Gambian people and to encourage wider social, economic, and political inclusion. Our party intends to reduce the power of government and return to grassroots democracy."[17]

Opposition

Throughout the People's Progressive Party's period in Gambian national spotlight, there were times of growing discontent with the government.[18] Not only did opposition candidates stem from that discontent, but many opposition parties were created to run against the PPP.[18]

National Convention Party (NCP)

The National Convention Party (NCP) was an opposition party to the PPP launched on September 7, 1975.[11] The leader of the party at the time was Sheriff M. Dibba, the former first Vice-President of the Gambia. After a political scandal, he resigned as Vice-President in 1972 and later founded the NCP.[11]

The 1981 Gambian coup d'état was led by a former NCP candidate. Members of the People's Progressive Party suspected that the NCP was in support of the coup attempt and subsequently, many members of the NCP were arrested.[11]

In the 1987 elections, the NCP won five seats in the legislature. Though Dawda Jawara won the presidential election, Dibba, the presidential candidate from the NCP, won 28% of the vote. Then in 1992, the NCP won six seats in the legislature.[11]

Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC)

The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) is a political party formed after the 1994 coup d'état. The ideology that led to the coup was discontent with the PPP; alleged corruption and a lack of economic development over time.[11][19] The main figure that dominated the APRC was Yahya Jammeh, who became president in 1996 and served until the 2016 Gambian presidential election.[20] Under Jammeh and the APRC's rule, there were numerous reports of human rights abuses and suppression of the media.[20]

Notable members

Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara
Dawda Jawara, president of the Gambia from 1970 to 1994 and a member of the PPP.

Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara served as the leader of the People's Progressive Party from 1959 until 1994 when he was overthrown.[9] He is responsible for changing the name of the party from the Protectorate People's Party to the People's Progressive Party.[9] Before serving as president for the Gambia he was elected into the legislature in 1960. During this time, he also served as the minister of education. He later became the prime minister of the Gambia in 1962 and was knighted in 1966, following independence.[9] Upon the creation of a new constitution in 1970, Jawara became the president and served until the 1994 Gambian coup d'état.[21]

Following the coup, Jawara was exiled and lived in Senegal and later London. He was later given amnesty but was not given the right to participate in the Gambian political arena.[9] He formally resigned as PPP leader in 2002.[22]

Omar Jallow, former leader of the PPP (2001-2018).

Jawara died on August 27, 2019, at 95 years old.[9]

Omar A. Jallow

Omar A. Jallow succeeded Jawara as leader of the People's Progressive Party. He was a member of Dawda Jawara's cabinet up until the 1994 coup d'état, when he was arrested. Under the Jammeh administration, he was reportedly jailed over 22 times.[23]

After Jammeh was not re-elected following the 2016 Gambian presidential election, Jallow was appointed the minister of agriculture as he was in the Jawara administration.[23]

At the 2018 national convention, the party's first since its ban was lifted, Jallow stepped down as leader. Papa Njie was elected in his place.[24] In 2020, Njie was appointed as the Gambian High Commissioner to Nigeria. Kebba E. Jallow then became interim leader,[25] and was elected as leader at the party's 2021 national convention.[26]

Electoral history

Presidential elections
Election Party candidate Votes % Result
1982 Dawda Jawara 137,020 72.44% Elected Green tickY
1987 123,385 59.18% Elected Green tickY
1992 117,549 58.48% Elected Green tickY

National Assembly elections
Election Leader Votes  % Seats +/– Position Position
1960 Dawda Jawara 25,490 36.9%
9 / 19
 New Increase 2nd Opposition
1962 56,343 57.7%
18 / 32
 Increase 9 Increase 1st Majority
1966 81,313 65.3%
24 / 32
 Increase 6 Steady 1st Majority
1972 65,388 63.0%
28 / 32
 Increase 4 Steady 1st Majority
1977 123,297 69.6%
29 / 35
 Increase 1 Steady 1st Majority
1982 102,545 61.7%
27 / 35
 Decrease 2 Steady 1st Majority
1987 119,248 56.4%
31 / 36
 Increase 4 Steady 1st Majority
1992 109,059 54.3%
25 / 36
 Decrease 6 Steady 1st Majority
1997
2002
2007
2012		 Omar Jallow Banned
0 / 49
 Decrease 25 Extra-parliamentary
2017 9,503 2.5%
2 / 58
 Increase 2 Increase 6th Coalition
(UDP-NRP-PPP)
2022 Kebba E. Jallow 1,168 0.2%
0 / 58
 Decrease 2 Decrease 10th Extra-parliamentary

References
  1. Derbyshire, J. Denis; Derbyshire, Ian (1990). Political Systems Of The World. Allied Publishers. p. 115. ISBN 9788170233077. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  2. "Opposition win majority of seats in General Election". Trade Bridge Consultants. 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  3. Hughes, Arnold (1975). "From Green Uprising to National Reconciliation: The People's Progressive Party in the Gambia 1959-1973". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 9 (1): 61–74. doi:10.2307/484012. ISSN 0008-3968. JSTOR 484012.
  4. Edie, Carlene J. (2000-03-01). "Democracy in The Gambia: Past, Present and Prospects for the Future". Africa Development. 25 (3): 161–198. doi:10.4314/ad.v25i3.22106. ISSN 0850-3907.
  5. Saine, Abdoulaye S.M. (October 1996). "The Coup d'Etat in The Gambia, 1994: The End of the First Republic". Armed Forces & Society. 23 (1): 97–111. doi:10.1177/0095327x9602300105. ISSN 0095-327X. S2CID 144632866.
  6. "The Gambia - APRC Congress". Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series. 55 (12): 22116B. 2019-01-16. doi:10.1111/j.1467-825x.2019.08624.x. ISSN 0001-9844.
  7. "The Gambia - Government and society". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  8. Hughes, Arnold (1975). "From Green Uprising to National Reconciliation: The People's Progressive Party in the Gambia 1959-1973". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 9 (1): 61–74. doi:10.2307/484012. ISSN 0008-3968. JSTOR 484012.
  9. "Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  10. Bellagamba, Alice (2016). "Solo Darboe, Former Diamond Dealer: Transnational Connections and Home Politics in the Twentieth-Century Gambia". The Upper Guinea Coast in Global Perspective. Berghahn Books. p. 282. ISBN 9781785330698.
  11. Perfect, David (March 2008). "Politics and Society in The Gambia since Independence". History Compass. 6 (2): 426–438. doi:10.1111/j.1478-0542.2008.00513.x. ISSN 1478-0542.
  12. Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Information regarding the political situation in The Gambia from the attempted coup in July 1981 to the present day". Refworld. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  13. Saine, Abdoulaye S.M. (October 1996). "The Coup d'Etat in The Gambia, 1994: The End of the First Republic". Armed Forces & Society. 23 (1): 97–111. doi:10.1177/0095327x9602300105. ISSN 0095-327X. S2CID 144632866.
  14. "Gambia opposition unite to fight". 2005-01-18. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  15. "Gambian Opposition Parties Set to Select a Single Candidate for December polls at a Convention". GAINAKO. 30 October 2016.
  16. Hughes, Arnold (1975). "From Green Uprising to National Reconciliation: The People's Progressive Party in the Gambia 1959-1973". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 9 (1): 61–74. doi:10.2307/484012. ISSN 0008-3968. JSTOR 484012.
  17. "Our Mission & Vision". People's Progressive Party. 2017-04-02. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  18. Hughes, Arnold (1975). "From Green Uprising to National Reconciliation: The People's Progressive Party in the Gambia 1959-1973". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 9 (1): 61–74. doi:10.2307/484012. ISSN 0008-3968. JSTOR 484012.
  19. Saine, Abdoulaye S.M. (October 1996). "The Coup d'Etat in The Gambia, 1994: The End of the First Republic". Armed Forces & Society. 23 (1): 97–111. doi:10.1177/0095327x9602300105. ISSN 0095-327X. S2CID 144632866.
  20. "The Gambia - Political change". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  21. Saine, Abdoulaye S.M. (October 1996). "The Coup d'Etat in The Gambia, 1994: The End of the First Republic". Armed Forces & Society. 23 (1): 97–111. doi:10.1177/0095327x9602300105. ISSN 0095-327X. S2CID 144632866.
  22. "Sir Dawda No Longer PPP Leader". The Independent (Banjul). 23 September 2002 – via allafrica.com.
  23. "Gambia leader heralds new dawn for minister jailed 22 times". Reuters. 2017-02-19. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  24. "Papa Njie is new PPP leader". The Standard Newspaper Gambia. 2018-12-31. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  25. "PPP selects Kebba Jallow as interim leader". The Standard Newspaper Gambia. 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  26. "PPP maintains Kebba E. Jallow as party leader - The Point". thepoint.gm. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
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