UDP Tearing Itself Apart

The Independent (Banjul)
EDITORIAL
August 16, 2002
Posted to the web August 16, 2002
Banjul

The facts can no longer be hidden. Not even the most efficient propaganda
machine can blind us away from the naked reality blighting the UDP.

The most interesting thing about it is that the most populous Gambian
opposition is under attack not from any other organisation diametrically
opposed to it. It is under attack from within and that is sending the
unmistakable signal that the party, which had carried the hope of many in the
opposition is being put to the sword by its own members.

Waa Juwara's words being fired ceaselessly at party leader Ousainou Darboe, who
seems disinterested with his silence, have indeed left many Gambians,
sympathizers and detractors of the party alike pondering over the ultimate fate
of the UDP. Startling revelations by Juwara that the party's coffers had been
milked dry to service Darboe's personal tax arrears just before the October
elections, leading to bankruptcy as it prepared for the National Assembly polls
is suggestive of the fact that the UDP is knee-deep in crisis and that the
political configuration of The Gambia could as well change as a result of it
all. The implications of being the biggest opposition party in the country
affects the balance of power in the national power scale when such a crisis
rears its head.

This is unprecedented in the sense that it is the first time in Gambian
political history that such a wrangling has been openly made and raises serious
doubts as to how the UDP could steer the ship of state when it cannot chart
itself away from troubled waters. Apart from its seeming inability to stabilize
itself, the UDP is also by implied judgment showing itself incapable of ousting
the APRC from power. A well-organised opposition organisation would have taken
advantage of costly mistakes of the government over the students' unrest two
years ago for instance and cause it to lose potential points on the political
scale. A political opposition working on a well-planned and well-mapped out
strategy would have profited from the losses in terms of support the APRC
incurred when signs of a failed economy were everywhere.

Indeed the APRC have an abiding interest in the whole debacle. They will be
very relieved that all this was happening to their main rival in the UDP and as
the implications become clear the opposition is its worst enemy. The APRC will
undoubtedly make political capital out of the opposition's self-inflicted
misfortune. Simple reason would show that the crisis would not take the UDP
anywhere. It would give credence to Jammeh's assertion that the party cannot
govern the country, as its leadership cannot hold.

It is a shame that The Gambia's name is being associated with the immaturity of
some of its politicians. Darboe is not a saint and nor are those in the
leadership. Waa should bear in mind that the UDP has its constitution, which is
adopted by the rank and file of its supporters. Therefore the right place for
any grievance he may have had against Darboe is the negotiating table or a
congress.

But yet again is Juwara sending some signals that communication within the UDP
is poor or that he was on the verge of forming his own party and in the process
rip the UDP apart. Another theory is that Waa is an agent of destabilization
for other rival parties who would take advantage of the crisis to win back
their followers who had joined the UDP as a protest action against Jammeh's
coup. Whatever may be the reason behind Juwara's attacks, the fact remains that
what the UDP need now is to restructure itself, review it programmes and
policies and put in place well guided economic and development policies that
would be an acceptable and effective alternative to the APRC. Its leadership
should also realise that it is the only party in the country without any
representation at the National Assembly and Local Government level. The absurd
irony of the situation is that they are the biggest opposition party without
representation. That was militating against its popular appeal, gradually
eroding its support bases as its supporters defect to other parties, which are
thought to be more vibrant on the political scene. A leadership crisis, which
the leadership makes no effort to conceal, is the direct anti-thesis to the
policy of consolidating whatever gains the UDP may have scored from the last
election.

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