Hi KB,
Well i still believe that this disagreement among the
parties over who should lead the coalition is a
serious issue. Those of us who are on the ground and
happened to get first hand info about the case
consider this a set back for the oppo. As far as i
know the PDOIS is yet to lend their support to the
coalition just formed. So at the moment the reasonable
assumption that one can give until the contrary is
proven is that PDOIS is also not part of the
coalition. Indeed Hammet Bah is out of town and the
little info i've been able to garther is that he sent
a good will message to the organisers for their
efforts. Indeed quite apart from Bakau's dembo
Bojang, am told that even UDP's Deputy for Central
Baddibu Lamin Dibba is still with the UDP. Lets see
what happens because i believe that the next few weeks
to the elections will proof really interesting. KB, i
hope this little info helps.
- Dampha Kebba <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Mr.
Sillah, thanks for the update. You are darn
> right that Dibba is isolated
> in this. Do I read you clearly when you say that the
> UDP MPs like Dembo
> Bojang that formerly belonged to NCP are staying
> put? If so, it just goes to
> prove my point that UDP is a broad-based Party that
> Dibba CANNOT just
> single-handedly dismantle.
>
> I took the liberty to change the heading of your
> post because I believe it
> is a misnomer. We do NOT have a split here. Get your
> facts straight. Try and
> interview Hamt Bah too or his top aides. Then you
> would NOT buy what Dibba
> is saying about this being a UDP/PPP thing. Where
> also does Assan Musa
> Camara and his Party feature in this? He is NOT a
> UDP/PPP member. What we
> have here is an Alliance of ALL the Parties EXCEPT
> PDOIS and NCP. This is
> NOT even about looking at the glass half full as
> opposed to half empty. The
> majority of the Parties are in the Coalition. I hope
> by the end of the week,
> Dibba will see sense and join the Coalition and put
> PPP animosity aside.
> Gambians are looking FORWARD. Now it is about
> Ousainou Darboe who is his own
> man and who is going to implement programs that will
> lift our people up.
> KB
>
>
>
> >From: Ebrima Sillah <[log in to unmask]>
> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing
> list
> ><[log in to unmask]>
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: Breaking News:A Split In The
> Opposition?(Latest Development)
> >Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 17:19:07 +0100
> >
> >Hi,
> >
> >Buharry, i think this is more than a strategy. Am
> just
> >from interviewing Dibba for the BBC and he
> confirmed
> >to the BBC that he was infact in the process of
> >registering his party to contest the October polls.
> He
> >even said there is very little chances to strike a
> >compromise here. According to Dibba the coalition
> is
> >more of a PPP/UDP thing than for the whole of the
> >opposition parties. However what is even more
> >darmmatic about this case is that already Dibba's
> >former allies like Hon Dembo Bojang of Bakau, and
> the
> >rest of the NCP MPs then are still saying that
> their
> >loyality to the UDP is unchangeable. This is a
> rather
> >interesting political development. My interview
> with
> >Dibba was also very revealing...too much info than
> >expected about the split and the dengerous
> underhand
> >political tactics. Not too good a situation for the
> >opposition.
> >NB...I think it will be important to send this
> Dibba
> >interview to the gambiansonline. Is it possible to
> >send you the interview electronically? Am using
> cool
> >editpro/ftp for my BBC jobs and i think one can
> send
> >the interview through ftp to your site. Am not sure
> >but if anybody knows please send me a mail.
> >
> >E Sillah.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- Momodou Buharry Gassama <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> > > Hi!
> > > While this walkout by S.M. Dibba might look
> > > disastrous on the surface, I don't think we
> should
> > > panic. I believe that this is more of a tactical
> > > move than a desire to split the opposition. Mr.
> > > Dibba knows by all indications that his chances
> of
> > > winning the elections are rather slim. This is
> due
> > > to numerous facts. Among them are:
> > > 1. He has been out of politics for numerous
> years.
> > > 2. He has kept absolutely quiet during the years
> he
> > > was banned whilst people like O.J., Halifa
> Sallah,
> > > Ousainou Darboe, Hamat Bah etc. challenged
> Jammeh on
> > > numerous occasions thus gaining them the image
> of
> > > being fighters for the rights of Gambians. He
> will
> > > therefore have an uphill task of gaining the
> trust
> > > of Gambians.
> > > 3.Time is not on his side. He does not have
> > > sufficient time to put in place an effective
> > > machinery to enable him to outplay the APRC, UDP
> > > etc. I do not know if he has the resources, but
> it
> > > will take a lot to create a campaign machinery
> as
> > > effective as that of the APRC or UDP within such
> a
> > > short period.
> > > 4. Ousainou Darboe's presence on the political
> scene
> > > for the past years and his numerous battles
> against
> > > the government on human rights and other issues
> have
> > > gained him a lot of support. A lot of this
> support
> > > comes from former NCP supporters. Even though
> Dibba
> > > might be able to take some NCP supporters from
> > > Darboe, it would be an illusion to expect to get
> > > back all NCP supporters in light of the fact
> that he
> > > has been quiet and inactive for so long. I
> believe
> > > that O.J. would have a better chance of being
> > > elected than Dibba because he was widely known
> > > during the Jawara era. Add to this is the fact
> that
> > > he was the most vocal and challenging of all of
> the
> > > Decree 89 politicians. The realities on the
> ground
> > > however made the PPP declare its support for
> Darboe.
> > >
> > > The above and other factors make it an
> uphill
> > > task for Dibba to expect to win the elections.
> While
> > > the NCP might have been the major opposition
> party
> > > during the Jawara era, the UDP has taken its
> place
> > > during the Jammeh era. Dibba therefore knows
> fairly
> > > well that Ousainou Darboe as a presidential
> > > candidate has more chances of winning than he
> does.
> > > One has to however use all the chips in one's
> block
> > > during negotiations. If Dibba had accepted
> Darboe's
> > > nomination on the spot, a calculation may be
> that he
> > > might not have been able to gain major
> concessions
> > > in a future government of national unity for his
> > > party. By walking out and knowing that he might
> be
> > > able to split the opposition vote, Dibba is
> hoisting
> > > himself in a position from which he can
> negotiate
> > > more favourable conditions. Dibba knows that his
> > > party is important in a coalition and that his
> > > walkout will not be the end of attempts to get
> him
> > > to join a coalition. He is probably waiting with
> > > conditions on a piece of paper for the
> delegation or
> > > phone call encouring him to join. This is about
> > > politics, negotiation and the art of gaining
> > > concessions. We should therefore not be
> surprised if
> > > we hear very soon that Dibba has accepted
> Darboe's
> > > nomination. Have a good day.
>
=== message truncated ===
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