Abdoulaye,

Your analysis of the political situation at home is commendable.It
also highlights the concerns that many has on this forum regarding the
alliance between UDP/PPP and it seeks to somewhat dampen some of those
concerns.The situation regarding NCP , PDOIS , and NRP was dealt with
realistically and that Darboe should show leadership by continuing to reach
out to them with the hope of finding a common ground.

The Darboe that i witness ,from 1980 to 1996 when i left home ,fought the
cases of many prominent gambians irrespective of party affiliations and
tribal backgrounds.I believe that he recognizes the contribution of all
parties in the struggle to free our dear motherland and would leave no stone
unturned to realize an alliance that is inclusive of all opposition parties.
I believe that if elected , Darboe will ensure good
governance that is based on the rule of law. Tribalism ,nepotism/favoritism
will be a thing of the past.

Abdoulaye ,the fact that you address your posting to all parties and editors
of news papers is a clear indication of your lack of biasness and
discipline. This is the way forward and as you rightly put it in your
subject that time is of the essence, bearing that in mind , i like to appeal
to all on this forum to try and refrain from making the debate a past Jawara
and present Jammeh regimes debate. It is unavoidable that when the past PPP
emerges , particularly with the alliance , it may be a tactical move ,but
will not stop people from being uneasy about it ,particularly, those of us
who had some negative experiences under the PPP regime. Let them express
their concerns and we should come up with a way of accommodating their
concerns by acknowledging it and try  convincing them that it will be
different this time around and not label them ,or trying to shut them up or
confronting them. We are all in the same camp and that a robust discussion
is the fiber of a vibrant democracy.

Time is of the essence.

Beran


>From: Abdoulaye Saine <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!!
>Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 22:50:43 -0400
>
>To:  All Leaders of Political Parties in The Gambia;
>        Editor, Point Newspaper;
>        Editor, The Independent;
>        Editor, The Observer
>
>
>The impending 2001 presidential election: An Editorial Comment
>
>On July 22, 2001, Jammeh was forced to lift the ban on political activity,
>political parties and politicians
>in preparation for the October 2001 presidential election.  Again, just
>like the two-year timetable back to
>"civilian" rule, combined international and domestic pressure compelled the
>incumbent president to partially
>open the political process.  This, to enable pre-coup, and other parties,
>formed shortly before the
>presidential election of 1996, to contest the election.  The process,
>however, still remains managed with the
>help of an Electoral Commission whose hand picked leader(s), except for the
>recently fired Chairman, Johnson,
>dance to Jammeh’s tunes.  Predictably, a level playing field does not exist
>as the conditions are stacked
>against the opposition.
>
>Jammeh, meanwhile, continues to have monopoly over the television, and
>national radio stations.  With state,
>and other ill begotten wealth, Jammeh’s war chest is indeed formidable.
>Consequently, he has used it, to
>dish out gifts to students, given tickets to pilgrims to perform the hajj
>in Mecca, and seeks to buy the
>loyalty of those who oppose him.  He boasts of being the wealthiest person
>in The Gambia, enjoys the services
>of a personal airplane and is alleged to own mansions in Morocco and Lybia.
>  In addition, he built a second
>State House in his birth village of Kaninlai, where provisions are in
>abundance and sold at discounted
>prices.
>
>Jammeh remains convinced that he can win the next elections, even in the
>face of an alliance of the former
>ruling PPP/UDP and support of  GPP's leader.  Despite the fact that the
>UDP, and PPP represent the two
>largest opposition parties and enjoy widespread popular support, four
>smaller opposition parties have so far
>declined to join the UDP/ PPP alliance.  The NCP leader, suspicious of the
>UDP/PPP alliance walked out of a
>meeting at which an alliance of the two was being announced.  A splinter
>party of the PPP, NCP fears of a PPP
>comeback are not entirely baseless, as it has been suggested since the
>alliance that the UDP is but a front
>for the PPP.  These allegations, however, appear less convincing today than
>they were in the last
>presidential election of 1996.
>
>Today, the UDP leader, and presidential candidate of the UDP/PPP alliance,
>Ousainou Darboe, has emerged as a
>national leader with considerable support capable of beating Jammeh under
>free and fair elections.  In fact,
>many believe that Jammeh stole the 1996 presidential election from Darboe.
>PDOIS, a socialist leaning party
>would join an opposition coalition only on condition that the prospective
>coalition presidential candidate be
>chosen outside of the existing political parties.  In addition with a
>mandate to preside over a one year
>transition program and put in place other mechanisms for free and fair
>elections.
>
>But perhaps the most nettlesome issue about the UDP/PPP alliance remains
>what appears to many as a sweetheart
>deal between the two parties, especially at a time when the leader of NRP
>was out of the country, and PDOIS
>not invited to the meeting.  It appears that the alliance was hastily
>concluded when many matters were
>unresolved.  Many wondered why a meeting was held when the NRP leader was
>out of the country, and why the
>request for a delay by PDOIS was politely rejected.  It again raised the
>lingering impression that the PPP is
>likely to come back to power riding on the coattails of the UDP.
>
>The fear over a PPP return to power has to do with the politics of
>patronage, corruption and its relatively
>mixed performance of thirty years.  Many Gambians, not withstanding the
>alliance’s popular support, may not
>wish to see a return of the PPP to power and that the sweetheart deal was
>underhanded at best.  This is
>because the PPP delegates were perceived as too eager to win Darboe the
>nomination.  In the end, the long
>hoped for opposition coalition did not materialize to the disappointment of
>many.  It is felt that only a
>united opposition of all opposition parties stands the best opportunity of
>unseating Jammeh and that the time
>had come for the opposition politicians to put aside their philosophical
>and ideological differences to send
>Jammeh packing.
>
>Predictably, opposition coalitions as Ghana’s 1992 presidential election
>showed are difficult to build, and
>maintain.  While there could exist an overarching interest in ousting the
>incumbent, party modalities,
>interests, and personalities may in fact, conflict.  This led some
>observers to term the lifting of the ban
>on political activity, “ as a blessing in disguise” for Jammeh, who expects
>that the time left for
>campaigning may not be enough for the opposition parties to resolve their
>differences, and in time, to mount
>an effective challenge against his rule.  The prospect for another five
>years of Jammeh, therefore, looms
>large in the minds of opposition party leaders, and dissidents.
>
>Yet, the alliance’s popular support in major urban centers, coupled with
>the regime’s perceived unpopularity
>could avert this outcome.  This is because the alliance, under Darboe,
>could in all likelihood win the
>presidency, with or without the support of the other opposition parties,
>but only if the election is free,
>and fair with “on the spot counting.”  Failing this, the ballot boxes would
>be stuffed as was alleged in
>1996.  As of now, Jammeh is vehemently opposed to “on the spot counting”
>and perhaps for good reasons.  And
>while it is desirable for all the opposition parties to be on a single
>ticket backing Darboe, or whoever else
>is decided upon, the absence of PDOIS, NCP and NRP endorsement may not in
>the end make or break the alliance
>at the polls.  PDOIS and the NRP are relatively small parties with weak
>though growing support bases, yet not
>essential to a UDP/PPP alliance victory.
>
>The NCP could have given a major boost to the alliance, however, because it
>had a larger support base than
>either PDOIS or NRP.  This support base was eroded during the seven-year
>ban when many of its supporters
>joined the ranks of the UDP.  Yet, despite Dibba’s astuteness and political
>appeal as a founding father of
>the PPP and The Gambia as a nation, his political hiatus from the political
>scene in the last seven years,
>leaves him unelectable and vulnerable to charges of grandstanding and
>opportunism.  It is also unlikely that
>PDOIS, NRP and NCP supporters would rally to Jammeh just because their
>party leaders do not support the
>UDP/PPPalliance.  If they vote at all, the majority is more likely to
>support the alliance, not Jammeh.
>
>This may, in fact, account for the UDP/PPP presidential candidate’s
>failure, so far, to reconvene another
>meeting or try to bring these parties to his camp.  Trying to win without
>the support, and goodwill of PDOIS,
>NRP and NCP could have high costs, however, and could be downright risky.
>Yet, as in other places, politics
>is risky business and revolves around alliances, coalition building, deal
>making and the art of compromise.
>Not to be left out of the loop, it is important that those parties outside
>the alliance be courted and
>included.  Darboe must take the initiative and be the presidential
>candidate to be reckoned with come October
>2001.
>
>PDOIS must also show flexibility for its preconditions for joining the
>alliance, in that the task of civic
>education is not a one shot deal, but an ongoing historical process that
>could, under the best of
>circumstances, take years if not decades to accomplish.  Similarly,
>choosing a presidential candidate outside
>the existing political parties could and is indeed perceived in some
>circles, as unnecessary, perhaps a tacit
>endorsement of Jammeh and a cry of sour grapes.  That is, if PDOIS’ chosen
>candidate, politician or civilian,
>does not head the coalition ticket, then no current politicians are worthy
>of and qualified to head that
>ticket.  If PDOIS insists on this precondition, it may very well remain
>outside on the sidelines of the
>alliance for sometime to come.
>
>Regarding the NRP, and NCP leaders, there still remains an opening for them
>to join the coalition.  Dibba has
>not, in fact, shut the door completely for compromise and NRP’s Hamat Bah
>could be induced into joining the
>coalition.  It will take flexibility, and perhaps another meeting to have
>all the parties come on board.
>This is the challenge that Darboe must rise up to.  And Time is of the
>Essence!
>
>Abdoulaye Saine
>Oxford, OH, U.S.A.
>
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