Fellow Gambians,



Allow me to make a stern rectification here that is NOT a coalition but a
Party. NADD can be defined as a party of parties if one wishes but it
changed status once it is decided by the Supreme Courts of The Gambia that a
coalition or an Alliance of parties is not provided for under the electoral
act.



Allow me to recall a little history here. When NADD was formed, the idea was
to bring together all the opposition parties (those that wish to join that
is) and form an alliance. This idea was provoked by Jammeh's decision to
tamper with the constitution and suppress the second round of voting. The
whole idea is, if Jammeh wins by a majority of votes and there is no second
round, he can be re-elected. However, if the opposition parties come
together as one force, the chance is they can beat Jammeh by that majority
vote he is hoping for. Therefore, the coalition came into being. Let us also
remember that the coalition was meant to select a flag bearer who will lead
the nation, in case NADD wins, for a period of five years. During this
period, the flag bearer-president, would not rejoice of any dictatorial
powers whatsoever and a democratic government will be set in motion where
affairs of the state shall be entirely discuss in the principles of fair
play involving the stakeholders, that is the people.



The hitch was Jammeh's counter-attack through the Clerk of the NA. The
opposition MPs lost their seats consequently when it was legally proven that
NADD IS A POLITICAL party and as such those NAMs under a different ticket
should vacate their seats. NADD had two choices to make; be a political
party or break-up as a coalition and return to its former political parties.
ALL THE PARTY REPRESENTATIVES DECIDED TO MAINTAIN NADD. This means the UDP,
PDOIS, NRP, NDAM and PPP ceased to exist. In The Gambia therefore, there are
only TWO political parties: NADD and APRC. It is under this ticket that the
new NAMs are voted in. Kemeseng is NOT UDP, Halifa is NOT PDOIS, SIDIA too.
They are all NADD candidates.



In this light, we should forget saying that one party has more supporters
than another within NADD because it has been mutually agreed that NADD is NO
MORE a coalition or an alliance but a PARTY. Darbo is a member of NADD and
if he resigns, it should be understood that he has resigned as an executive
member of NADD and not as a UDP leader as we have rightly proven that UDP
does not exist anymore. This difference is of utmost importance. UDP can
only exist if it is decided that another party should be created and be
called UDP. It has to go through the whole process of registering. However,
Kemeseng will not lose his seat, as he was not voted in as a NADD candidate.
He can choose to vacate his seat by rejoining the UDP (if ever this break-up
happens) but he can also choose to stay as a NADD candidate. A new UDP would
not necessarilyy be the former one. Darbo has not created the UDP. Quite the
contrary, it was UDP that created Darbo as the party was formed and he was
designated as its leader. His resignation should therefore not be seen as
doomsday for NADD because the decision lies entirely on the former UDP
supporters.



Those of us given support to NADD should rejoice instead of condemning NADD.
The trust we have for the executive should grow stronger day by day. They
have without doubt proven to be quite a democratic party. Contrary to APRC
where there is a one-man show and all he decides is law, NADD has proven the
contrary. They not only believe in dialogue to arrive at decisions but they
have proven that consulting their electorate before any major decision are
taken is one of their fundamental principles. They have adhered to it.
Democracy is more complex than autocracy because before a decision is
reached, particularly on sensitive issues such as selecting a flag bearer,
series of discussions must be carried out and consultations will have to go
on. NADD instead should win our respect and support at this crucial stage.
We wanted NADD to be and it is. If we continue the trend of "assuming" and
"supposing", then we will give the trusted leaders a hard time because we
will be driving them to the corner that we all hope they will not reach only
to condemn them again for reaching there.



What we should do is suggest the next positive step to take now that Darbo
has resigned from the executive!!!!



Good luck and Good night!



Fatou

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