Gambia L,

It is appalling to quote the administrative secretary of the APRC that the
local government elections scheduled for November 2000 by the IEC "are not
possible because we have four months to put things in place. I think it was
imperfectly announced. The local government election has to be embodied in
the new Local Government Act which has not been passed to the National
Assembly. To have an election, we have to look at the demarcation and
redemarcation of boundaries and the registration of voters. How can you talk
about an election when (these) important factors are yet to be in place?"

There cannot be any credibility to this claim that things are not in place
for the election. The APRC is the majority in the Gambia House of
representatives and I honestly believe that the do not want any elections. I
was not surprised to hear Saja Taal's declaration because it refreshed my
recollections as to what the majority leader said earlier this year about
this very election. I see this declaration as a conspiracy to rob the Gambia
people of their constitutional right to elect who represent them. Where is
the legitimate authority in the Gambia about election issues? The IEC should
not sit and fold their hands whilst the APRC hoodlums define their roles for
them.

If truly, there are no logistical preparations on the ground for the
election to take place as declared by Saja Taal then why is the IEC not
forthcoming about that reality? Indeed if there is any truth to what Saja
Taal is saying it is incumbent upon the National Assembly to call an
EMERGENCY session and put the modalities of the elections in place. The
Gambian people are sick and tired of being sick and tired of procrastination
by this government. Power belong only to the people and any further delay in
the process could lead to unnecessary chaos in the country. Saja Taal went
on to claim that the APRC is the most transparent party the Gambia will ever
have!!!!!!!! Saja Taal know that is a blatant lie on his part, if this
government is so transparent as he claim. Mr. Taal, then why did the APRC
members voted down the motion to setup a parliamentary committee to look
into the crude oil affair? Where is the coroners report on the April 10 and
11 massacres in the Gambia? Those MP's as you clearly knew acted to protect
the most corrupt leader in west Africa- Yaya Jammeh.

One thing I think Mr. Taal you and the entire leadership of your party must
come to grips with the realities of the day and honestly evaluate the Gambia
people's thinking and what they are going through. Never in the history of
the Gambia before 1994 had we experienced postponements of elections by the
direct interference of a political party and it's supporters. Before the
1997 elections your party militants July 22nd movement were calling for NO
ELECTIONS propaganda but in the end they failed miserably and this time is
no exception.

Mori Kebba Jammeh

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