About This Publication
Section 222(15) of the 1997 Constitution gives the President of The Gambia the constitutional
mandate to “…undertake a nation-wide tour at least twice a year in order to familiarise himself
or herself with current conditions and the effect of government policies”. Since the promulgation
of this provision in the 1997 Constitution, this section has been widely politicized by both the past
and present Presidents. In many cases, the ruling party will make use of this section to stage the
“Meet the Peoples’ Tour” as it is widely known, right before elections to campaign for their party
and candidates, which gives the incumbent unfair advantages to the oppositions. The Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) in every electoral cycle, will publish the timeframe for political
campaigns to commence. However, the “Meet the Peoples’ Tour” is always brought near to the
campaign period, as it could be seen later in this document for the year 2021 and 2022. The tour
is a state funded activity with the objective that the President and his cabinet ministers will tour
the country to understand the living condition of the citizens and the effect/impact of government
policies on the livelihood of the people.