GAMBIA'S INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION SHOULD BE DISBANDED September 12, 2005 Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission should be disbanded in the interest of free and fair elections. The current IEC set up under the Chairmanship of Ndondeh Njie, is not credible the least. It is not capable of conducting free, fair and transparent elections. The new IEC set up had not hidden its support for the Ruling government. This is confirmed by their bogus statements calculated to baffle Gambians on the pending by elections. IEC had the guts to remind NADD flag bearers, in the upcoming by elections to comply with an electoral decree, which required them to notify the electoral body about their intentions of abandoning their respective political parties. The same IEC is aiding and abetting the APRC in their "clandestine" mass voter transfers in opposition strongholds across the country. It is time for the IEC to tell Gambians where they stand. One thing Mr. Njie and his colleagues should realise is that the future of The Gambia lies in the hands of the IEC. Any attempts to mess up with the electoral process this time round, will be greeted with strong resistance by the civil populace. Your boss dictator Yahya Jammeh, is aware of the growing discontent among the civil populace. Our editorial is not intended to scare you in anyway. We are just being frank. The political field is not level at all. While APRC'S self styled "griot" Yankuba Touray, FJC and others are abusing the National Radio and Television, the IEC is silence about the state's failure to allow the opposition to have access to the public media. This is a gross violation of the so called Electoral decree, which you had been quoting time and time. It is our contention that the by elections had been rigged in advance. The IEC will no doubt declare the Ruling government candidates victorious come September 29Th 2005. The said victory belongs to NADD. It had been hijacked by the IEC. We are not being pessimistic in anyway. We are just analysing the current political climate, which seems to be in APRC'S favour. The Independent Electoral Commission had not also issued any statement yet to clarify recent news reports regarding vote buying activities allegedly spearheaded by some Ruling APRC big wigs. It is the duty of the Commission to investigate such reports and tell Gambians what their findings are. The Commission is doing disservice to the Nation. It had woefully failed to meet its constitutional responsibilities. The PDOIS leadership had time and time exposes the electoral lapses of the IEC. Their claims are supported by sound and valid constitutional arguments, which the IEC cannot deny. Halifa and other folks have done their bid in sensitising our ignorant IEC officials. It’s a disgrace that our electoral body is being run by unprincipled individuals. It's encouraging to learnt that the NADD leadership have decided to challenge the mass voter transfers in the courts. This will help to discredit the already shattered electoral process. We don't know the type of "prayers" the litigants(s) are seeking in this case. It’s our contention that a demand for fresh registration of voters in the Upper Saloum constituency should hit the chart. Failure to do so, will cost NADD dearly come September 29Th, 2005. Our electoral register had been invaded by questionable voters. Unless these faked voters are expunged from the register, there is no way that the Opposition can win the pending by elections. Electoral factors leading to the elections are not encouraging at all. There is clear cut case of vote rigging in favour of the Ruling government. Gambians have long been taken for a ride by the IEC. It's time to end this electoral broad daylight stealing. Legal remedy should be the first action to take to tackle such electoral violations. If our courts fail us, then it’s a different story all together. We expect the Supreme Court to dispense justice with fairness, irrespective of one's political affiliation. The courts and The IEC are essential in any true democracy. They direct the future of any country. If such institutions are found to be corrupt and un-credible, then the future of that particular country is gloomy. It's imperative therefore, for the said two institutions to assert their Independence at all times. The IEC had failed the test of time and its leadership should gracefully resign from office. Mr. Njie and his cohorts should read our editorial with an open mind. As Gambians, we cannot afford to see our country being wrecked by "Jammeh's hand picked" electoral staff. We will continue to speak out against this corrupt and useless institution. The IEC had been reduced to Yahya's personal property. He randomly hires and fire its officials with contempt. The IEC should be disbanded in the interest of justice and fair play. We rest our case. Go To Top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2004 AllGambian.Net. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar - get it now! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤