Dear M.B,
Well, while i agree with you on some of the points raised about why the
UDP/PPP coalition lost the election, I also have to tell you that the
allegation of stealing the elections is one that has been made, and there is
indication that evidence was gathered. So until that evidence is made
available if this can be done, I would not exactly say that Jammeh won this
election fair and clear without any funny games.
Even if this allegation is not proven, there are a lot of other things that
Jammeh did that were all intended to give him unfair advantage, namely, the
last minute changes that allowed people not on the list to vote. That one
certainly gives credence to the accusations of bringing in voters from
Casamance. Then of course, there is his new found wealth that he gained by
using the people's money and so he had lots of money to organize a campaign,
not to mention that fact that the other parties have never had the priviledge
of getting the exposure they deserve on the television that is paid for by
Gambian taxpayers, or the money that Jammeh put into his campaign..
Also, my comment that Jammeh is shrewd does not mean that this is all good
shrewdness. It is true that he has learnt the game of "buying" influential
people with strategic appointments such as the appointments of Alakalos and
chiefs, and money and this does help to garner support for him, but it is
bought or "arm twisted" support. The rest of the games he plays are
brutality games, all intended to keep him in power because he fears meeting
his demise in the same manner he came into power and I am disturbed if any
Gambian sees nothing wrong with that.
You say that Jammeh has perfected Gambian politics and that history will look
favourably on him, but how in God's name can such a thing haappen M.B when
peple are being rounded up and jailed as we speak simply because they
exercised their constitutional right to support the party of their choice? Is
this the reward to the people because he won the elections fair and square?
How bizarre then. Are these the actions of a leader worthy of praise and
whose regime will be viewed positively? How, Why?
Likewise, how about all of the detention of journalists and the fear
inflicted on the country by the lawless agents of Jammeh? What did these
journalists do that warrants their detention? The list of violation of
people's rights including overiding the Constitution is on record. What about
the term limits clause he took out of the constitution?
Are all these the actions of a confident government who is to be considered
as having perfected Gambian politics, someone who will go down in history as
an asset to us and what is there to be jealous of in such a leader?
The list of human rights violations and Jammeh's pronouncements of firing
people and burying them 6 feet deep is now legend.
You call someone who has done and continues to do all of this a person who
has perfected Gambian politics? if this is perfect Gambian politics, and if
young people see nothing wrong with all of this,then we are in real trouble.
Yes, Jammeh is shrewd alright, but in all the wrong ways, and the rest he
gets through his wallet and the list of people without principle who fall
for this is unfortunately growing.
Please remember that over 40% of the people did not vote for Jammeh, and you
also agree that some may have voted more against the UDP/PPP alliance as
opposed to voting for Jammeh, it is just too bad that those folks did not
then cast their votes for PDOIS or the other opposition parties who were not
part of the alliance as opposed to APRC.
It is true the opposition parties need to do a retrospective, but they have a
brutal government who does everything in their power to tip the scales
unevenly, and what an atmosphere to work in.
Personally, I would like to ask the question of just what advantage will the
opposition parties have if they make tremendous gains in the parliamentary
elections? Will the yactually be able to make a difference in keeping this
government in check, or will Jammeh just use his strong arm tactics of simply
ignoring the constotution and laws or rewrite them to enable him to still do
as he pleases? This is the question because we are faced wit ha govermnent
that does not play by the rules any way you look at it.
Jabou Joh
In a message dated 10/30/2001 6:16:18 PM Central Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
>
>
> Sister Jabou
>
> I am glad we both agree that President Jammeh's strategy is working to keep
> him in Power. I would also like to belief that you are one of the few
> members that have issues with some of his policies, but please rightly
> agree with me that other members just jealously hate him. The guy have
> perfected Gambian politics, and unless the opposition "think out of the
> box", they will never catch up with him. With objective observations, I
> couldn't help but notice his successful strategies, and how he changed to
> adapt to the oppositions'. See my sister, I like to objectively belief that
> historians will see more positive into President Jammeh regime that most of
> see now. Unlike most of us who are objective, other have a direct vested
> interest to get him out of power, and we should all be thankful that the
> voters didn't put our fragile nation into a power struggle had the
> opposition won.
>
> With the above said and the call to regroup, here are some of my analysis
> as to how President Jammeh was able keep the oppositon at bay to win again.
> But before I get into that, I would like to state that this posting is in
> no form intended to offend anyone, but a simply comparison of what I
> observed and read about both camps. This is my personal view and non of my
> family members should be held responsible.
>
> In the years to come, different people will come up with theories as to why
> the UDP/Alliance party failed in their efforts to unseat President Jammeh.
> Some of these theories will be directly blaming him of stealing the
> elections in different forms. Others will go to the extend of blaming the
> innocent voters for not doing what they think is right for The Gambia. Fact
> is my friends, President Jammeh and his APRC party ran an excellent
> campaign, and until the opposition admits to that, they will continue
> falling short. Accusing sitting governments of stealing elections is
> nothing new in Africa, but history will continue to show that well
> organized campaigns always end up victorious. One of the most important
> things APRC had going for them was that, they kept their campaign strategy
> in place even when they knew that the opposition was gaining ground on
> them.
>
> The first obvious observation was the cancellations of meetings by UDP. Not
> at any point during this past campaign did we hear APRC canceling meetings
> because the locals wanted them conducted during daylight hours for the
> whole country to know who they were for (correct me if I am wrong). Some of
> those little changes not only delayed the UDP campaign trail, but also
> signaled to the next meeting venue how insignificant they were. They
> continued failing to realize that some of the local villagers spend a lot
> of time preparing for those meetings, and canceling them at the hindmost
> minute doesn't sit well with them. It is also beyond me how the United
> Democratic Party failed to realize that some of these local villages were
> using them and their meetings to anger fellow villagers with the
> opposition, which in most cases resulted into fighting. I am sure everyone
> on this list remembers the almost civil war that resulted into the loss of
> a young life in Basse a few months ago. That was also the result of another
> bad decisions made by UDP campaign officials. Upon putting together a good
> campaign on that leg, they again had to return at the request of some
> villages that felt left out. A party with a good strategy should not have
> allowed themselves to be played like that.
>
> Secondly, just like American held former president George Bush to his "NO
> NEW TAXES" line, most Gambian voters couldn't trust the UDP party after
> they collated with PPP. To associate with the former regime after initially
> denying that they were affiliated was not only an inexperience move, but a
> signal of desperation on their part. Any smart politician should have known
> that was suicidal. See folks, as much as they would hate to admit, UDP
> officials knew that they can never single handedly defeat APRC, so they had
> to seek help from "big brother" PPP. What they failed to realize in the
> process was that, their "big brothers" are now the most hated politicians
> in The Gambian. Most of The Gambian people are sick of the old PPP regime.
> Although most of the voters would never admit in public that they only
> voted for Jammeh to avoid a PPP comeback, fact remains that the UDP's
> alliance with PPP was of no help. Like the majority of the Gambian voters,
> I would have also voted against the coalition to avoid a PPP comeback. We
> have to challenge our selves to allow the younger politicians to emerge.
> Going back to the dark ages will not help our country. It is only right
> that we let the old folks enjoy their retirement. We all know that the PPP
> regime wasn't the best, and it beat me to hear young educated Gambians
> rooting to get them back into power.
>
> So while UDP/PPP was going around jealously campaigning against President
> Jammeh's wealth and success, APRC kept reminding the voters of the trick
> the former regime is using to get back into power. It was with that
> campaign strategy that APRC started turning the corner, while at the same
> time planting a conspiracy seed in the mind of most UDP officials. Like
> most of us had notice, the old PPP candidates started emerging, and UDP
> parliamentary candidates started taking the rear seat. That was a sign to
> the old candidates that they will not be nominated once Darboe wins, thus
> creating a deep rooted conspiracy that their campaign managers never
> figured out. By collating with PPP, UDP officials were in fact aiding APRC
> to victory with the delusion that they were using each other. The UDP
> campaign officials also fail to realize that the crowds following them were
> not all supporters, but people that wanted to see the former ministers. I
> guess after seven years of not seeing some of those old cats, most Gambians
> wanted to see how they look without the luxuries they were used to. Some of
> the voters I spoke with indicated that they fear a power struggle if UDP
> was elected. One even joked that "the Gambia doesn't have the resources for
> UDP to reward those starving grumpy old men". We all knew they were not
> doing all that campaign for the good of the Gambia but for their own
> benefits.
>
> The other important factor APRC had going for them was UPD's mistake of not
> finding younger lawyers to represent them in court. I was amazed by the
> amount of time the UDP leader was spending in court rooms defending his
> people, especially after the Basse incident when UDP started gathering
> momentum. So the strategy of keeping them in the court rooms rather that
> the campaign trail actually worked for President Jammeh and his crew.
>
> Oh one final point, with the Presidential position in the bag, I predict
> Jammeh to sweep the Basse area during the parlimentay elections if the
> opposition doesn't adjust.The above my friends are some of the factors I
> think resulted to the defeat of the "dream group", and I recommed the
> opposition take a good look in their internal structure and strategy than
> make a ……..
>
> Momodou Billo Krubally
>
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