THE STOLEN VERDICT: ELECTIONS, THE MOST  

                CORRUPT EXERCISE OF "DEMOCRACY".  

 

                       By: Ousainou Mbenga                   

 

Subsequent to the "selection" of Jammeh by his "Illegal Electoral
Council" (IEC) as oppose to being elected by the "voters"; how many of
us still have doubts that "those who cast the votes determine nothing
but those who count the votes determine everything"? 

 

Before we get into the core issues of this topic, let us first
acknowledge the fact that September 22, 2006 and its aftermath presents
another important lesson for us to take heed and learn from. In my view,
this is the final lesson from the Jammeh regime. If we haven't learnt
anything from the past 12 years, this episode makes it amply clear that
Jammeh's declaration that he will "reign for thirty years" is not only a
threat to our livelihood but a threat he intends to act and impose upon
Gambians unless it is met with escalated resistance. Consider the
intoxicated tongue-lashing that Jammeh resorted to following his "stolen
verdict": "the whole world can go to hell" (including the people who
supposedly "voted for him"), "I will close any newspaper..." and "....I
put people in jail until they grow old...".

 

Aside from the apologists and the defenders (maggots) of this carcass
(AFPRC-APRC), what are the rest of us willing to do to put an end to
this tyranny? The vast majority of us didn't vote ourselves into
Jammeh's tyranny or the general miserable African condition and to think
that we can vote ourselves out of this African dilemma is the highest
state of illusion. As we can see, the vast majority of Gambian people in
no uncertain terms expressed their disillusionment of the "electoral
process" than any other period in our history. Whether it is because of
the alleged anger at the split within the "opposition" or the deep
seated contempt of Jammeh's 12 years of unprecedented horror, it is a
good sign of political consciousness, an indictment of the graveyard
regime, APRC. Suffice to say, Jammeh tells us in the clearest of terms
that "votes cannot remove me, a coup will not remove me"; to put it
bluntly, "political power comes from the barrel of a gun". 

 

ILLUSIONS, GOOD INTENTIONS AND ELECTIONS

 

Our illusions of what constitute political power; a consequence of the
good but dishonest intentions of politicians of the ruling and
opposition parties and the periodic ritual of sham "elections" has been
the major deterrent for revolutionary changes. In general, governments
do not as a rule derive their powers from the "consent of the governed".
This exercise known as "election" has been skillfully designed centuries
ago as an instrument to deflate the volatile anger of the masses (every
4,5,10 or 20 years depending on where the "democracy" is professed) to
assure the continuity of the status quo that allows room for "reforms"
and accommodate demands of the oppressed masses as long as they don't
erupt into the skies and overturn the existing social relations.

 

Elections perpetuate the illusion that the masses have a say in the
selection of their leaders. See The Point Newspaper post election survey
of "voters". The vast majority of the responses were from the people who
have a stake in the carcass APRC, whether it was coerced to protect
their maggot jobs or "private sector" businesses is beside the point.
The point is, all these shiftless respondents who consider themselves as
part of the "elite" have no say in the decision making process, it is
all left to the one-upmanship of Jammeh, the aspirant fascist-monarch. 

 

Election(s) is the most advanced system of flattery in "democracy" with
its many empty promises of reforms, lies and outright fraud. Our
conditioned minds subscribe to the notion that nothing can be done
without elections, the vehicle through which neo-colonial "democratic
despots" like Jammeh legitimize the system of repression and
exploitation of the ruling elite. This legitimization goes even further
with popular catchwords such as "free and fair", peaceful and worst
still when the "opposition" request for "a level playing field", a pipe
dream at best. There will never be a level playing field in any
election, especially in the neo-colonial states where the resources
(radio, TV and print media) belong to one pinhead president whose
dictates reign supreme.

 

A semblance of a level playing field may exist in the so called
"developed nations", the nations that have the "god given rights" to
exploit the rest of the world, particularly Africa then categorize us as
"underdeveloped". This level playing field in the "developed nations"
can only accommodate two players, generally the Democratic and
Republican parties; both serve the same interest. Consider this; in the
USA, a battle has raged for nearly 100 years to allow a third party -
the Independent Party to no avail. Yet the ill-advice given to Africans
is to allow "multi-Party democracy" which translates into 5-20 political
parties in each neocolonial entity or "failed state(s)". May be these
were the reasons why Winston Churchill said "democracy is the worst form
of government except the others".

 

THE STOLEN VERDICT:

 

The Gambian voters should consider themselves a bit lucky in using a
marble to vote. Had the touch screen computer been the method of voting,
Jammeh would have added an earthquake onto his "landslide victory" with
a perfect 100%. Because who else might be touching that screen other
than the voter? Thanks to the marbles, a repetition of Florida in the
Gambia would have been beyond disastrous. 

All elections are set on floating standards to assure the fraudulent
manipulations of the entire process. Rigging of votes is an ongoing
process; it doesn't take place only on Election Day, though it escalates
as Election Day draws near. To us, the process of any exercise is
equally as important as its end result, and in this instance the
"results" clearly exposes the corrupt nature of the electoral process.
Sadly enough, many of us are only interested in results.

 

Let's examine the process utilized by Jammeh's APRC to rig the
elections. The gun and the judiciary are the primary instruments
utilized by Jammeh to assure him the "easy victory" in all his
elections. The gun serves its obvious functions, murder, assassinations
and intimidation, while the judiciary and its courts tinker with the
laws and eventually created the "bayonet constitution" that have given
the Jammeh regime absolute "rogue power". This "bayonet constitution"
enabled Jammeh to erase "term limit", the "second rounds" clause, in the
event no candidate captures more than 50% of the "votes", indemnifies
murderers and the creation of his own illegal IEC. Jammeh's courts; "the
arena of personal vendetta" has crippled the national consciousness of
the entire country with help from his "mercenary judges" and the timid
Gambia Bar Association.

 

It is arithmetically impossible for Jammeh to win an election without
buying votes and bribery of illegitimate voters from our porous borders
with Senegal. The 2006 elections show the lowest voter turn out in the
history of the Gambia. It was reported that, out of 600,000 registered
voters, only 260,000 voted; a below 60% turnout. There are many
attributes leveled at this unprecedented low voter turn out ranging from
voter apathy following the split within the opposition to contempt for
the APRC.

 

A third attribute in my view, is that the dormant social consciousness
in the Gambia is being awaken and for it to sprout on the already
fertile ground, it requires a revolutionary leadership not in the form
of the "opposition" but a "radical alternative". "Oppositions" are
generally satisfied with regime change and the maintenance of the status
quo, the aspirations of the renegade UDP/NRP coalition. It's time for
the dead to bury their dead so that we can engage the masses in fruitful
struggle to bring about fundamental changes in our beloved country.

 

Let's consider another senseless and corruptible aspect of elections.
The plunder and waste of resources during the election process is what
fuels the greed of the unscrupulous "politicians" and perpetuate the
chronic dependence of the masses on hand-outs and bribes from these
useless "politicians" as oppose to freeing up the potentials of the
masses to do for self. Adding insult to already injured "voters", the
electoral process condones and instigates VIOLENCE of the most
reactionary nature among the masses while the opposing candidates fan
the flames. The victims of these violent acts rarely include the
criminal politicians who, once in office impose the permanent violence
of POVERTY over the people. The immature and senseless behavior of
candidates towards each other rather than addressing the social issues
makes a mockery of the democracy.   

 

In general, the resources (especially money) wasted on elections should
make us question this notion of the "democratic" process. It's quite
obvious that the mere exercise of elections will never liberate us from
the tyranny of the neo-colonial state. Elections have become synonymous
with the lottery. The candidate who raises the most money; the highest
bidder, is most often guaranteed to win. Think about it. Is there any
sense in wasting all these huge sums of money to "elect" a
"representative of the people"? This outrageous misuse of public money
and resources is the bedrock of this corrupt practice of the "democratic
process"; the breeding ground for the-never-ending supply of the
unscrupulous and greedy present day politicians. We never see them until
elections time.

 

According to reliable sources, which I have no doubts about; Jammeh
spent $7 million to "thief" the elections. Why should anyone doubt this
amount, when in July 2004, Jammeh spend $3 million (D80,000,000) to
celebrate the 10th anniversary of AFPRC-APRC. If we recollect, few
months before the elections, the "old boys club" (African Union) held
their summit in the Gambia and again Jammeh dipped his bloody hands into
the public coffers to entertain his guests.

NADD spent a meager D619,368.60 in its campaign, thanks to the STGDP,
the Minnesota Group and all the contributors on the ground and abroad.
We have no figures on UDP/NRP expenditures but we understand they are
heavily indebted with campaign expenses. 

 

Just consider what else could have been done with all this money towards
tangible human development. To show the folly of his reasoning in this
elections, Jammeh gave instructions to his distributors of sugar (a
poison at best and the culprit in the high prevalence of diabetes) to
exclude all the "opposition" in his "benevolent act" for the Ramadan. 

 

This is the disturbing irony with Jammeh's despicable behavior. Here is
a person who was severely deprived in childhood into adulthood and
instead of eradicating the conditions of deprivation, he reinforces the
wretched conditions of deprivation beyond comparison; the source of his
anger and violence. Now, all Gambians must suffer the wrath of his
childhood. 

 

Elections are seen as the be all and end all of society but to the
contrary, the ballot box is truly the "great equalizer" because the vote
of a poor farmer and the vote of Jammeh count for the same thing.
Fundamentally, neither of these votes counts for a damn thing; Jammeh
(or his "class of crumbs-sharers") doesn't need to vote to exercise
"political power" and the poor farmer or battered wage worker will never
exercise political power no matter how many votes they cast. This is the
more reason why some of us advocate a radical system change as oppose to
a mere regime change. There will never be a revolution through the
ballot box with all its inherent corrupt and violent practices against
the impoverished people. 

 

THE "GUARDIANS OF THE OLD BOUNDARIES" (AU/OAU) RATIFY ELECTIONS

 

It comes as no surprise that congratulatory messages of Jammeh's
"selection" are flying all over the pages of the Daily Observer, the
only "legal newspaper" (a property of the "emperor") in the Gambia. The
Independent has been burnt down, The Point is emasculated following
Deyda Hydara's assassination and the Foroyaa belongs to a political
party. Are these messages tendered for the sake of protocol or are we to
believe that these "heads of states" truly believe that Jammeh won "free
and fair"? The AU just convened its periodic summit in the Gambia and
after all the waste of resources agreed on one single "resolution"; that
no more coup d'etat will be tolerated in Africa. They agreed to gang up
on any coup makers to protect the "sovereignty" of that neo-colonial
entity. Here we have Africans being slaughtered in Darfur, Sudan and
there are no plans to gang up on the racist Arab regime.   

 

With the exception of the lone female president, Sirleaf Johnson (we
hope she can resist to be "testosteronized" by the failed patriarchy
amidst her) the AU/OAU remains an old boys club still Obedient to the
empire, thus the title O.B.E (Order of British Empire) bestowed upon
those who tirelessly work for the imperialist interest of the British.
At the height of the anti-colonial struggle the O.B.E took a different
meaning to Africans, it meant to us "Obedient Boys of the Empire". We
must remind you that the neo-colonial state still serves the interest of
the imperialist empire. The AU and their ally the "international
community" will ratify any election results because it is to their
interest that ruinous regimes like their own remain chaotic to maintain
the status quo. It's to the interest of blood-suckers that blood still
flow in our veins lest we constrict the flow of blood. 

 

Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, the AU Secretary General and Abdul Salami
Abubakar, the UN Secretary General representative and Chairman of
Commonwealth led the mission to observe the elections and report to the
world their observations. Both Salim and Abubakar are aware of Jammeh's
despicable behavior towards every aspect of Gambian life, yet they
engage in the usual protocol crap with Jammeh with total disregard for
the tyranny unleashed upon the Gambians. This protocol crap is of no
benefit to us the victims of Jammeh's tyranny. We understand that
Abubakar confided to a colleague that "Jammeh should grow up". Because
of the mystification of the "authority" of presidents, they are always
beyond criticisms. 

 

A NEW BEGINNING

 

To the conditioned mind, there is no better way than the "election" way
with all its corruption, waste and violence. It has been deeply coded in
our mind set suggesting that we cannot do any better than this cultural
trap that have humanity, especially the most vulnerable sector of
humanity, the oppressed, in a permanent state of retrogress.  

 

There has been a massive shift in human consciousness after all these
centuries of operating on "fear-based mind-set" unconsciously concealing
the revolutionary possibilities that await a future of well being for
life. I am positive that I am not the only African who has sensed this
massive shift in consciousness but the crushing load of our fear based
culture has unnerved many of us to accept conformity and obedience
towards our self-defeating practices that long ago out lived any
usefulness.

 

A new beginning demand of us to sever all ties with the fear-based
mind-set that closes our hearts and minds to the passionate question:
can there be a better world than this wretched one? The passionate
answer to this question is a resounding yes! For nature never intended
to have her most conscious species, human beings to wallow in misery on
planet earth and defer all enjoyment of life to a "hereafter".

 

"Ku marr geech fekasila" - the river comes to those who are thirsty. Our
passionate drive and conviction to quench this thirst is what is being
put to the test. The institutions of the status quo that run our lives,
be it political, social or religious deliberately undermine the
revolutionary possibilities for a better world as nature meant it to be.
Therefore, we must be prepared to accommodate the changes that come with
an altered mind set into our hearts and minds. 

 

Only a developed open mind and heart can come to the conclusion that
"traditional practices" such as wasteful elections, abuse of "authority"
and the acceptance that human suffering was predestined are all
manufactured to hold back humanity from the expression of its highest
spiritual potential in harmony with nature. 

 

We should choose our officials and representatives with minimal expenses
and eradicate the corruption, waste and violence inherent in the
electoral process. It is through these corrupt practices that
politicians perpetuate themselves and this foul system hiding behind
"democracy". Elections as we have accepted it under this system is just
one of many stumbling blocks in our path to a more advanced humanity, a
humanity of greed-less-ness and the well being of life. 

 

In conclusion, opening up to something new and unknown may be
challenging but very rewarding if we submerge ourselves in the efforts
to rise and go beyond all limitations imposed by the current crumbling
and chaotic culture of greed, senseless exploitation and death. The
entire system has failed under the leadership of its demonic patriarchy.
Change is more feasible than ever and finally inevitable.

 

To ensure this change for a new beginning (world), we need new mothers
who can unleash their fury against this culture of violence perpetrated
by patriarchy and not to reverse the roles and become like the failed
patriarchy. All mothers to become must understand the essential role
nature had always assigned them million years ago; birthing and
nurturing (mothering) for the well being of society without violence,
the senseless drive for ownership and restraint from happiness and a
joyous life. To all African women and mothers to become, remember that
some of us brothers really do care, the reason why we raise our sons to
become good and supportive fathers in the inevitable new society.   

 

 

            

 


¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤