In a message dated 8/16/01 4:03:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> the opposition alliance will lost the forthcoming presidential
> election. And who to blame, innocent IEC officials.
>

Manneh

I am not putting an iota of blame on IEC officials. I know for a fact that
IEC officials..the majority of which  on election day are recent school
graduates, are hard working people with noble ideas for our country. I never
point a finger at the IEC during any of our dialog so don't put words in my
mouth. What I have been trying to put across all this time is the experience
I had during the referendum with the officer commanding Mansa Konko. Not once
did I mention that the then PIEC is complicit in any wrong doing.

Talking of pathetic isn't it ridiculous that you can only count a single
instance where the judicial system ruled against the government in an
election case. If our judicial system is as independent as you would like
folks to believe, then why in the world is it taking them forever to even
render a decision in the case of Bishop Johnson? This case you would agree
with me goes to the very core of the constitutional provision that establish
the independence of the IEC.

Furthermore you know very well that the judiciary is at the mercy of the
government and to say otherwise is just mind boggling to me especially coming
from someone like you who a couple of weeks ago was fighting to keep his
ancestral land from been illegally grab by the government. Why didn't you
trust the courts to settled this matter now instead of talking about legal
action under a future government? Talk about trusting the judiciary to rule
against the government huh!

You can sugarcoat all you want but any reasonable person following events in
the Gambia understands that leaving the courts to decide any dispute in the
presidential elections ala Florida will not happen because it will never get
that far and if it those no decision detrimental to the government will be
rendered.

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