The Gambian Opposition and the One-Party Dominant System
   
  If current discussions on online forums about the recent UDP pull out from NADD is anything to go by, it looks like the furor is eventually simmering down.  The withdrawal of the UDP leader, Ousainou Darboe, has finally confirmed months of speculation over the absence of total unity within the NADD coalition. If anything, it has further minimized the chances of the Opposition to defeat Jammeh in the forthcoming presidential elections and pushed The Gambia closer towards another one-party dominant system, reminiscent of the First Republic.
   
  As predicted by many observers on and off these forums, the split has only widened the schism between the different political entities that comprised NADD and increased the animosity and mistrust between their party militants.  The crisis has even filtered through to some of their support groups in the diaspora rendering some of them virtually moribund.  In the US, the Movement for Democracy and Development, which had together with Save The Gambia Democracy Project (STGDP) and the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy in The Gambia (UK), contributed immensely to the launching of NADD and the funding of the bye-elections has seen its activities severely curtailed by the breakup.  Some members of these groups have been accused of openly peddling the agendas of one political leader or another, to the detriment of the alliance.  
   
  President Jammeh who must be regaling the imbroglio has meanwhile launched a massive PR campaign possibly to polish up his international image and win over some indecisive voters from the Opposition camp. It is noticeable that he has in the past few weeks engaged in reconciliation gestures with the Opposition despite the string of unresolved murders and other crimes linked to the State.  There is no doubt that Jammeh’s photo op with former president Jawara, the visits of high profile leaders such as President Obasanjo and the King of Morocco, and the eventual holding of the AU conference in the Gambia later this year will only serve to boost his image and improve his scorecard.
   
  While a coalition could be a viable prescription for defeating an incumbent president, its success lies principally in the strength and unity of the constituent parties. Since the signing of the MOU, NADD had struggled to maintain a façade of unity and denied reports of disarray within its ranks. One cannot fail to wonder why the parties had agreed to sign the MOU in the first place when there was evidence of a discord among its members regarding the very structure of the alliance and the modalities of selecting a flag-bearer. It is unforgivable, indeed sinful, for the tireless efforts of the many Gambian men and women who have been supporting NADD to be dumped into the rubbish heap of some political miscalculation.
   
  A fragmented and divided opposition with a weak financial base will find it difficult, if not impossible, to unseat a rich incumbent president, who unfairly uses state resources to outscore his opponents. A cursory glance at the Opposition, projects the picture of small, under-funded parties with sometimes poorly defined ideologies hardly comprehensible to the ordinary Gambian voter. 
   
  In the absence of certain democratic safeguards such as a limited presidential mandate, transparent voter-lists, the equal access of all parties to state media and other resources, the Opposition will only continue a legacy that existed since the introduction of multi-party democracy in The Gambia: a one-party dominant system. It may precisely be for this reason that a Tiers Etat, in the form of the Gambia National Army (GNA), emerged as an honest (no pun intended) power broker.  If the trend continues, The Gambia may not have seen the last of the GNA at State House, just yet.
   
  The PPP’s total and unrelenting domination of the Gambia’s political life, elections after elections, for almost three decades drove Yaya Jammeh and his cohorts to finish off where Kukoi had left off in 1981. By the time the AFPRC came to power, the Opposition in The Gambia had all but disappeared with the exception of PDOIS and NCP. 
   
  The rest had been co-opted, out-competed or just dropped out of the competition.  What we are witnessing today is a repeat of the same tactics by the APRC and who better else than the former head of the State Guard himself to implement this system of ‘first-past-the-post’ electoral system. The UDP has gone from 7 seats in 1997 to nothing, the NRP from 2 to zero. NCP has been co-opted in the UDP and APRC and its leader working closely with President Jammeh. The GPP and the erstwhile ruling PPP are barely visible. PDOIS has seen its only two MPs 'forced' into joining NADD.
   
  After years of hobnobbing with the rich and powerful at State House, Jammeh has emerged as one of the best students of the ‘hang-on-until-they-come-for-me’ survival kit.  The recent media stunt photo of Jawara and Jammeh cannot better portray the irony of power and politics in The Gambia since independence. Forensically, the photo should serve as a lesson for Jammeh and to all the presidential aspirants that power is not perennial. O ye, how the mighty have fallen!
   
  It should also now be clear that multi-party democracy does not begin and end with the simple and occasional act of casting a ballot. The Opposition has to, first, fight for a level playing field and insist on the revamping of all obnoxious electoral laws and practices, failure of which they should boycott all elections. Otherwise, they would be legitimizing an inherently authoritarian regime that thrives on a semblance of democracy to qualify for international aid packages from donor countries. We have seen how some heartless government officials and their clientele engage in blatant acts of corruption and graft while the majority of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. 
   
  Next, the Opposition should engage in a vigorous civic education exercise to reduce the exploitation of the system by unscrupulous politicians who may use ethnic or other personal affiliations to attract votes.  This may also help reduce acts of voter intimidation and inducement, improper voter registration, and vote buying; the main tools used by one-party dominant systems to rig elections. In the long run, the educated voter will learn to separate the wheat from the chaff.
   
  Finally, the Gambian Opposition should learn to respect one another and end the slugfest. If anything, the APRC’s dismal record should be the punching bag. Snide remarks by one political leader against another and personality attacks would only undermine their collective effort to fight for a better Gambia.  I believe that only a principled and fearless Opposition can break the one-party monopoly that we have witnessed on and off since 1966.
   
  Momodou. 
   
   

			
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