It is obvious that the Spin-Doctors are definitely at work, and the
Bantaba is getting its real taste of the election fever. Predictions and
counter predictions of landslide victories have become a common theme on
the –L, and frankly I am not sure how this tactic really helps in the
garner of votes. The target group for this tactic is been directed to GL
zealots like myself who obviously will not be directly voting in this
election, and have definitely made up our minds. At this critical time,
speaking for myself is much more interested in real factual news on the
ground, without lot of unsubstantiated spinning. But yet still is
all-good, and GL is again playing a profound role by making us to be
part of the electoral process.

The day of reckoning is  Friday morning, the Gambia would have elected a
new leader, and like most people on the Gl, I am hoping for a new
leadership and a new party at the helm. The Gambian voter electing a new
leader will help the democratic process in our country, and give us
another chance to carve a new direction to Gambia, our homeland. From
the newspapers and the fierce debate and spinning on the G>LG-L, the
final days of the campaign have become up-tempo. Party leaders and their
supporters are digging their heels, tempers are becoming short fuse,
issues are been replaced with insults and threats, and winning at all
cost has become the ultimate goal. For some of the political parties and
their stakeholders, this is one election that they have no intention of
loosing and signs of desperation are beginning to show. In the Gambia,
like most places in Africa, people invest everything in supporting a
candidate and a political party, and loosing can bring an end to living,
as we know it. It is rather interesting and sad that the most ideal, and
the only system for that matter that guarantees stability and peace in
determining governance and direction can also bring about chaos and
disunity among citizens of a nation.

As an observer to politics in the Gambia, a change of government will
bring about not only a change of leadership, economic policies and
direction, but a significant change to the landscape of the the social
order. By loosing the Presidential Election, party leaderships and their
supporters are not only confronted with a disappointment of loosing an
election, but with other realities close to home: the beginning of being
an outsider, an outcast deprive of every right of being a citizen and
the lost will have an impact on both private and public lives to those
individuals. If you are a professional, you will be definitely out of
any meaningful employment and as a private businessperson; you are
looking for the obvious path to bankruptcy or heavy-handedness from the
government. As a businessman recently indicated to me, there is no way
you can ever determine the support of most of the business elite, and in
fact most are supporting all the candidates financially. It is call
hedging your bets. Supporting a candidate, who ends up loosing the
election, brings a price tag that is unimaginable. It is no accident
that tempers are flying in a serious high voltage, insults are replacing
issues and thuggery has taken over the final phase of the political
campaign.  And even after the election is all over, and a leader is
elected, most of the tactics during the political campaign only
transforms to another phase. Partisanship become the order of the day,
us –against- them becomes an issue in governance and party militants and
elite supporters get the compensation for a job well done. Would it ever
be possible in the Gambia, that an elected leader becomes a President
for its entire citizen, irrespective of political support? Is it ever
being possible for an elected leader to reach out to his or her opponent
for a sincere and meaningful dialogue to build a Government of national
unity? Simple as some of these questions are, it is one of the most
challenging phenomena to thriving democracies, the Gambia included.


Come this Friday, after all the spinning, a candidate will become the
leader. Bottom line, most people are going to be disappointed, and may
not be able to fathom how to move on with meaningful life with the lost.
From the above points I tried to articulate with the nature of our
political process, effective governance will become impossible.  For
Gambia to come alive after the election and address the bread and butter
issues important to most of the Gambian people in the rural areas, we
will have to put the election behind and pursue a new phenomenon that is
both development and government friendly. Elections are only relevant if
they can help us peacefully elect a leader who will carve a direction
for the Gambia with its entire people. The next government should
immediately halt the divisive politics, end the election period and
begin the period of governance.  A sincere reaching out to opposition
members from the opposition to make them part of the new government will
help end the election phase and introduce a new government of all it’s
people.  The new leader should set the tone for a new government of all
political parties, and reach out to supporters and non-supporters and
reassure them that we are going to need all Gambians to build a future
for our country. After the election has been decided, the election
rhetoric and the fighting mood have to be left behind, and a new spirit
of togetherness in order to tackle the mundane of governing.

Like all people of this world, the farmer in Sandu, the zero-income
earner in Palen and the petty trader in kiaf would like to see real
improvement in their lives. They would like to have good shelter, an
effective system to sell their yearly harvest, clean drinking water,
food for their families and a reasonable access to medical care. It is
not only a God given right for Americans, Germans, Japanese and the
French to expect real work form their leadership and Governments. Most
of us came to this part of the world to enjoy those rights and
expectation that have become a God given right to the host countries.
Everything I enjoy in the US, from shelter, employment, reasonable
medical care, I would like to see my Sister in Dandimayo to have similar
facilities and expectation. For that to happen, who ever the winner is
come Friday, he is going to be the leader of one of the most backward
country on the face of the earth, and it is going to take more that a
miracle to bring about the aforementioned conditions. It is going to
need a new thinking,  a bold creative way of doing business and a total
support by all Gambians to address the plight of our nation. The Gambia
yearns for a different leader with a different way of doing things. A
bold leadership can be an effective starting point.

The creation of an atmosphere of revenge, vindictiveness, settling
scores and government of the few would only deepen our backwardness.
Whoever become the new Moses, reaching out to your opponent and seeks
their support and brings about a Government of National unity will be
the constructive and smart thing to do. Lets us do the impossible, and
create a country that can be emulated in the sub-region. The new leader
will have to send a sincere message to non-supporters that they are part
of this government and that the leadership is only committed to
governance and  the bringing about of the much needed development change
in the country. Yes, a government of national unity will not bring an
end to our political differences, but at least a new and effective
political climate can be introduced for posterity. Gentlemen, for Gambia
to survive this wicked situation, there is a need for a real Moses to
come up with bold and creative solutions to set us apart from the norm.


Musa Jeng

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