Bambalaye,

I guess this is the missing link "electoral reform", we should have embarked 
on this long
time ago. The opposition should have push for an early electoral reform. 
Electoral reform may sound pretty small within such a grand vision. But 
electoral reform is the key, the opening up the political system, the means 
for restoring hope and confidence to the Gambian people.

Enhancing the independence and strengthening the capacity of the Independent 
National Electoral Commission (IEC). IEC must be seen as independent of 
partisan bias or control, even of the incumbent administration. That relates 
to the selection of its members, the autonomy of its budget, and the 
authority it exerts to enforce the election laws and regulations. These 
reforms must extend down through the state and local government level.  The 
system for counting and aggregation of votes must be made more transparent 
and verifiable.  There must be evidence of prosecution of violators. A 
climate of impunity will undo the best rules or regulations. Only by all 
pledging to work toward reform will the parties have the incentive to give 
up the reputed advantages of rigging.

Even though one will be tempered to say that the obstacles to reform were in 
fact too deeply ingrained to be overcome; ingrained in the culture, in the 
winner take all attitude of the parties, in the drive for wealth that comes 
so much in Gambia from public office, in the apathy of voters, in the 
corruption of the system, in the weakness of the security services and the 
judiciary. So many obstacles, so difficult a challenge. It was almost too 
easy to give up.

The opposition parties should have press the government to agree to reform 
the electoral laws before the general election. Bribery of voters at polling 
stations, intimidation and harassment of opposition leaders and their 
supporters, as well as bias by state-owned media could all thwart true 
democracy.  Our fight should have been directed towards the cleaning up of 
the system. Something has to be done for the sake of the integrity and 
oneness of the country.  Misuse of public funds and public facilities during 
the elections, public media that give the opposition no voice, intimidation 
of the opposition, all these issues should have being addressed before the 
elections.

Reading from your report and analysis holding the elections without the 
necessary electoral law reform should have been out of question. But all is 
not lost there will definitely be a break thorough by great leadership as we 
are witnesses through the NADD leadership. Truly great leadership, those who 
could see beyond the shorter term gains from the present system, those who 
could see to the future and the needs of the state and the Gambian people in 
the years ahead –such leaders will break through. They will initiate the 
process of reform, they will mobilize supporters, and they will make 
progress.

The Struggle Continues!!!
Ndey Jobarteh

>From: BambaLaye Reply-To: [log in to unmask] To: 
>[log in to unmask] Subject: Exposing Jammeh’s Fraud – What Needs 
>to Be Done (II) Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 20:17:13 -0500
>
>Exposing Jammeh’s Fraud – What Needs to Be Done (II)
>
>Intimidation, Manipulation and Misuse of State Resources
>
>There is abundance of proof Jammeh has jumped on every opportunity to skew 
>the electoral competition to his advantage through crude and sometimes 
>illegal methods. He has not hesitated to use his toadies and thugs to 
>obstruct the opposition and its supporters. He took every opportunity to 
>coerce, frighten and pressure ordinary citizens into believing he is the 
>best thing since Kanilai. He has stacked the IEC with his closet stalwarts 
>and in effect blatantly jeopardized the independence of the IEC. He has 
>succeeded in controlling the state media to use it at his discretion. The 
>IEC has served Jammeh’s purpose by failing to enforce electoral laws 
>against the A(F)PRC. The decision by the IEC to set the presidential 
>election date to September 22 was not by accident. The IEC decision was 
>intentionally contradictory to the electoral laws in that it contravened 
>the requirement within the constitution that all stakeholders be consulted 
>to set the election date. A much more devastating effect of this decision 
>is that in case of defeat, Jammeh will have to stay in power beyond the 
>constitutionally mandated sixty days since his current five year tenure is 
>to officially end at year end. In its bid to satisfy Jammeh’s whims, the 
>IEC has single handedly committed the biggest constitutional blunder in the 
>history of elections in The Gambia. It is obvious the IEC will continue to 
>serve Jammeh’s purpose. The opposition should not expect the IEC to take 
>any of their complaints about A(F)PRC violations seriously; they tend to 
>dismiss these on the basis of some absurd technicalities. UDP/NRP has just 
>reported their campaign team was recently waylaid by Jammeh’s thugs in the 
>Brikamaba area. There cannot be a more brazen example of what Jammeh is 
>ready to do. He will do anything to increase the pressure on opposition 
>activists by denying them of services and benefits they are legally 
>entitled to, such as state security and the right to hold rallies. Instead, 
>they could be arrested and jailed, beaten up or even murdered. These 
>cowardly acts could send a chilling message effectively creating a climate 
>of fear. Jammeh has also applied more subtle pressures like threatening to 
>sack those civil servants suspected of being opposition supporters reducing 
>their families and dependents to derelicts overnight. Jammeh may even go to 
>the extent of trying to keep opposition candidates off the ballot by 
>levying unfounded accusations of treason; by attempting to murder them; or 
>by declaring them ineligible according to his dictates. They have already 
>started talking about Henry Gomez’s (GDP) legibility to contest elections. 
>These are some of the blunt ways Jammeh will attempt to rid himself of any 
>threat to his throne. In addition to threats and thuggish ways applied by 
>local organizers and A(F)PRC campaigners; they have reportedly used gifts 
>and effectively bought votes from opposition supporters in the past. By 
>coercing government officials and cabinet members to do his biding for him, 
>Jammeh is involved in the most blatant, most assiduous misuse of state 
>resources not withstanding the fact that he behaves as if he owns the 
>state. He has mobilized state employees to campaign for him at government 
>offices; they have used government vehicles and state owned fuel to travel 
>to rallies; paid allowances to those officials on his campaign trail; the 
>list goes on. Jammeh has never faltered his use of the control he has over 
>the state media. He has repeatedly used the avenue to trance on the 
>opposition at his discretion.  He has ensured that independent media is 
>dead by all means. He has proven many times he will not hesitate to detain, 
>threaten or physically attacked and murder any journalist that is 
>sympathetic to the opposition view. He has succeeded in doctoring laws that 
>protect his behind on the pretext of anti-defamation. He has succeeded in 
>restricting free speech by all means. Moreover, while GRTS and the Daily 
>Observer are ensuring coverage emphasis on issues and problems amongst the 
>opposition, other privately owned media are understandably economical in 
>their coverage of the gigantic strides made by the opposition. Fair play 
>does not exist in the media coverage despite cosmetic attempts like the 
>recent one hour program by Malick Jones where he invited the opposition 
>leaders. That was a commendable feat by GRTS but is a pee-wee effort 
>compared to the constant coverage of Jammeh’s theatrics.  It is unfortunate 
>the opposition can do virtually nothing to avert some of the blatant misuse 
>of state resources and obvious biases manifested by the IEC. One thing they 
>can certainly do is to apprise themselves of these violations, monitor and 
>document all violations and more importantly come up with countermeasures 
>to alleviate the effects on their voter empathy. They can endeavor to 
>strengthen their strategies in those areas where the violations have the 
>greatest impact. They should always find indigenous ways and means to 
>counteract the violations and accrue more support while on the campaign 
>trail. Standing up to the thugs will have to be the game plan and ensuring 
>any attempt to instill fear and intimidation tactics on the opposition 
>activist is equally reciprocated, albeit in self defense. The opposition 
>must be particularly mindful of last minute changes to the election process 
>by the IEC. Such changes are intended to undermine fair play and confuse 
>the electorate in favor of the A(F)PRC. The IEC could possibly close off 
>critical parts of the process against scrutiny by the opposition and the 
>public or other independent monitors.
>
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