>From: panderry mbai <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: GAMBIA'S FRAGILE DEMOCRACY YET UNDER TEST. THE BY ELECTION FEVER
>HITS THE NATION!!!!!
>Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 00:33:23 +0100 (BST)
>
>Gambia's fragile democracy is yet under test. Come next month Gambians
>will determine who to entrust the affairs of their nation in the National
>Assembly which had been reduced to dictator Yahya Jammeh's personal
>property.
>
>JAMMEH AT A GUARD OF HONOUR
>WE EXPECT YOUR SOLDIERS TO STAY
>AWAY FROM ACTIVE POLITCS!!!!!
>This coming by election means a lot for our impoverished nation, which had
>lost its democratic values, since the advent of dictator Jammeh's rule.
>The eleven year of the APRC misrule had been characterised by massive
>electoral fraud, murder, abductions and arson attacks. This government had
>succeeded in instilling fear into the minds of voters to an extent that
>they can safely predict the outcome of future elections.
>
>It's on record that Jammeh had brags time and time that with or without
>Gambian voters he will sweep any future polls. To quote him right he once
>said"whether you voted for me or not, the devils will vote for me." This
>statement of Jammeh is indeed very revealing. Is he is implying that he
>got the means to rig elections, as he had always been doing.?
>
>The current political field is not the least level. Under the current
>state of affairs, there cannot be free, fair and transparent elections.
>The Independent Electoral Commission in short IEC, which should be seen to
>be independent had been invaded by Ruling APRC supporters. These APRC
>appointees believe that it's Yahya who is paying them and not Gambia's tax
>payers. They compromise their work ethics just to satisfy the interest of
>the incumbent Yahya Jammeh.
>
>The electoral crisis started with the registration of non Gambians, mainly
>from the Southern Senegalese Provence of Casamance. The cross border
>voting is still a problem in The Gambia. Persistent demands by the
>opposition for the IEC to expunge the names of these foreign Nationals from
>our electoral record book had fallen into deaf ears. This had confirmed
>well founded claims that the IEC is not capable of conducting free and
>fair elections.
>
>Second, the mere fact that the IEC is not willing to extend franchise to
>Gambians living abroad goes to show that the Ruling Party is not keen in
>playing by the democratic game. While civilise and democratic nations are
>providing legislative bills to empower its nationals abroad to vote, The
>Gambia government is still passing bills to further undermine democracy. A
> classical example is the bill, which bared second round of voting.
>Knowing that he had lost support countrywide, he decided to use his rubber
>stamp National Assembly to ban second round voting. The passage of such a
>bill is not only an assault to our constitution, but to The Gambian people
>as well. Jammeh behave as if he owns the constitution. From 1994, to
>date more than thirty constitutional amendments had been spare headed by
>this desperate regime.
>
>With barely few weeks to the by elections, the APRC is embarking on an
>unofficial political campaigns. The IEC is watching by idly without
>cautioning the ruling party to go by the rules of the game. Access to
>state media and other media outlets within the country will help candidates
>to send their messages across. This is not the situation today in The
>Gambia. The State media had been reduced to Jammeh's propaganda tool.
>Reporters and editors working with such media institutions are exposed to
>censorship and intimidation by the government. They are not given free
>hands to report divergent views. Their editorial line is clearly spelt
>out. That they are bound to dance to the dictates of the ruling government
>or else they will be send packing. Sensational propaganda news to sell
>the image of the ruling government is usually the order of the day. We
>cannot blame such folks to some extent, because it's the system that
>created the environment of censorship. While they have the
> decision to work or cease to work under such a hostile media
>environment, some of these folks are working tirelessly to defend the
>ethics of the journalism profession. One such fellow is Peter Gomez, a
>former broadcaster and news editor at the Radio Gambia. Gomez was fired
>because of refusal to distort political news. He rightly quoted Jammeh as
>having said that he plans to introduce the Muslim law, Sharia in The
>Gambia. This report cost Gomez his job. But today, Peter can raise his
>head high. He was a victim of government heavy handedness.
>
>Beside the media censorship, the regime is also hell bent on inducing
>voters who are perceived to be opposition supporters or sympathisers.
>Poverty stricken farmers will not hesitate to sell their votes for a bag of
>rice to feed their families in August. August is widely considered as a
>difficult month in The Gambia. This is the time, when food is scarce in
>many rural homes in The Gambia. This is the time, when farmers are
>desperately awaiting to harvest their crops. This is the time, when
>farmers face difficulty in paying their sons school fees. The September by
>elections is really going to be interesting. It would determine the future
>of The Gambia.
>
>The opposition is faced with a big challenge. It must work tirelessly to
>prove to the world that it's capable of capturing the four contested seats.
> Waiting until the 11 hour to cry foul is not the method to expose
>electoral fraud. Free, fair and transparent is just more than voting. The
>factors leading to the polls determine the fairness of any elections and
>not mare voting.
>
>We hope and pray that both the opposition and the Ruling government will
>adhere to the electoral codes. That the elections will be violent free.
>That Yahya Jammeh will restrain his trigger happy uniform men to stop
>meddling into active politics. Our brothers and sisters in uniform should
>remember that governments come and go, but the state remain unmoved. They
>should be loyal to The Gambia and her people and not Yahya Jammeh as a
>person. Any attempt to intimidate voters, which had always been the
>practise will not tell well on our fragile democracy. We expect the
>security forces to remain neutral and avoid being used by the incumbent to
>create mayhem in the tiny West African country.
>
>There is growing discontent among the civil populace today and any move to
>intimidate voters will be greeted with strong resistance. It's
>irresponsible on the side of Jammeh to incite his followers to respond to
>what he termed as"any opposition provocation." Our cherished peace is
>bound to be upset, if these irresponsible comments emanating from the
>president cease to stop. Such statements can bring flames in the Gambia.
>Be it Jammeh or the opposition should preach messages of peace and
>reconciliation and not otherwise. Politics of violence will not move The
>Gambia anywhere.
>
>Instead, it will bring more under development. God save The Gambia. Our
>nation is still undergoing transition and it's up to Gambian electorates
>to take the right decision to save the nation from Jammeh's misrule. 2006
>is a golden opportunity for Gambians to decide the future of their
>country. Remember, you have no chance to make a second "impression". The
>future lies in your hands.
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>---------------------------------
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