My Fellow Gambians ! In this posting, I shall talk about WHY we need a coalition (tactical Alliance)of the Opposition parties in The Gambia to contest the forthcoming elections. I shall give some pointers as to HOW and WHEN to get the Alliance underway, given that the elections are fast approaching. I shall also talk about the Alliance’s task in the post-Jammeh –Gambia. Some of the issues are very complex, and I have endeavoured to use plain and straightforward language in order to clarify these for the man and woman in the street. As we have discussed many times before, there is an urgent need for political education in our country, and I am hoping that my series of messages to all Gambians, is going someway to meet this need. Once again, I urge our readers in The Gambia to circulate these messages as widely as possible – particularly in the provinces. We have to use every means in our power to spread the Opposition message, and to ensure that we defeat Jammeh and his regime in the forthcoming elections. WHY DO WE NEED AN ALLIANCE? We all know the reasons why Jammeh and the APRC should be soundly defeated in the elections: these are matters that I have touched on and detailed in my previous postings, and other contributors to the Gambia-L have also put forward strong arguments to support the case against Jammeh. Our once proud and confident nation is in the hands of a band of criminals who are interested only in filling their own pockets: The Gambia has fallen into the doldrums under the mismanagement of Yahya. It is the task of all Gambians to bring an end to this dreadful regime at the first opportunity. But let us be clear that the actual task of ending Jammeh’s rule through the ballot box is not going to be easy. Jammeh still has a strong groundswell of support throughout the country: he has been careful to ensure that his people have been appointed to key and influential positions (for instance, Divisional Commissioners, Mayors, Chiefs, Alkalos, District Elders and Leaders); and with the whole machinery of state behind him, combined with his control of the public purse strings, he is in a powerful position. He is able to buy people’s loyalties, using public money, and the Kiang by election showed us that he has no qualms about buying people’s votes. The task for the Opposition parties is going to be immense: they do not have access to the machinery of state, nor do they have their fingers in the public purse. People in The Gambia, furthermore, have tended to mystify and mythologise the presidency: they bow without question to authority; they believe that the governance crisis is God-given rather than man-made. They are yet to understand that politicians are not superior beings – that they are our servants whose task is to work on our behalf. Our politicians are not our Lords and Masters. People who are narrow minded or shortsighted, believe that if Jammeh is removed from office, then there will be even greater trouble in The Gambia, with fighting and resistance from the APRC regime and its supporters. Clearly, Jammeh is using the whole machinery of State in order to consolidate his grasp on power. He and his supporters have access to government transport, to government fuel, to free telephone services, to the national media, to the services of civil servants who are supposed to be apolitical. Now, with all these advantages which they use in their favour, Jammeh has a huge political advantage as the incumbent candidate. More importantly, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which is supposed to be independent in the true and full sense of the word, has been undermined by Jammeh and may no longer be relied upon to remain impartial. The suspicion is that the APRC will use a supposedly independent IEC to their own advantage. In fact, by sacking the IEC Chairman, Bishop Johnson, and replacing him with an APRC man, Jammeh has set the scene for us all: we know what to expect, and it will certainly not be impartiality and neutrality of the IEC. These are just some of the many hurdles facing the opposition groups in the forthcoming elections. We now have to ask what advantages there would be, if our Opposition parties were to come together and work as a united Opposition to Jammeh and his regime. How would a united front, a coalition, an alliance be in a better position to defeat Jammeh in the ballot boxes. First and foremost, an alliance would restrict the possibility of vote splitting. If each political party were to put forward its own presidential candidate, then it is apparent that votes could be split in more than two ways. Rather than just an APRC and an opposition candidate, we could see three, four, five or more candidates in each constituency (APRC, UDP, NRP, PDOIS, Independent). But, by combining the opposition, you reduce the voting spread: it becomes just a "two horse race", and gives greater chances for the opposition to defeat Jammeh. Secondly, elections are expensive enterprises, especially when you face incumbents who will be using state and public resources to hold onto power. To fight this entrenched incumbency, individual opposition parties need money and resources (manpower, logistics, vehicles, fuel etc.). Therefore, by combining the Opposition parties – by them coming together to work as one – there can then be a combination – a bringing together – of their limited resources. This combination of resources would go a long way to matching the vast resources which Jammeh has already hijacked for his own ends. Thirdly, if the various opposition parties come together as one oppositional group, it will be possible for them to cover the whole of the country, and to do this very effectively. Each party can cover a good area of the country and no area will remain uncovered by an opposition candidate and the resources to support him or her. In the past, with their limited resources, not every village or town in The Gambia has been covered effectively. By sharing resources and manpower, and by backing just one presidential candidate, it will be possible for the Alliance to put a strong case in each and every constituency. The identified and agreed Presidential candidate for the Opposition Alliance, can then try to cover as many areas of the country as possible: where he/she cannot visit, other members of the opposition will have covered these areas. Fourthly, it will be far tougher for Jammeh to oppose a strong, united opposition alliance candidate, rather than individual party candidates. The psychological advantage to the opposition and against Jammeh would be immense. Knowing the APRC, they would be seriously worried by the strength of a combined opposition. In the past, we have had direct evidence of the way in which Jammeh falls to pieces when strongly opposed or under public pressure: the man lapses into wild dreams and even wilder threats, and he tends to make a public buffoon of himself when he is under pressure. Psychologically, by working together as one oppositional unit, Jammeh would as usual, lose his cool and start to act as a crazy man. We have seen it in the past, and we need to make this happen again in order that each and every voter in The Gambia has a true picture of this dreadful man. Fifthly, it will be easier for concerned Gambians at home and in particular overseas, to raise funds for a united opposition rather than for individual parties. People want to donate generously, knowing what Jammeh represents for the country. Without an alliance, these donations would be much more thinly spread across the existing opposition parties, but by coming together, we bring our financial resources together and strengthen ourselves in opposition. Sixthly, on the issue of unity and reconciliation amongst all of us who have been Jammeh’s "victims", our strength lies in working together. An alliance would bring people together with a common purpose, uniting them against a common enemy. We would feel stronger by virtue of working together, and this would be a very powerful weapon in our armoury against Yahya. HOW DO YOU FORM AN ALLIANCE ? We know that each political party has its own programmes, doctrines and policies. In other words, each political party has a manifesto, outlining how The Gambia should be run if it were to assume leadership of the country. Clearly, the programmes are different, the principles are different, the underlying doctrines are different. However, there are times in life when COMPROMISE is an absolute necessity in order to take a cause forward, and to work for the general good. It is understandable for parties to express fears about going into a coalition, because the chemistry of the parties and their various members is different and important. And of course, there is no point in forming an alliance where the members of it will always be at daggers drawn all the time. Therefore, if a political party were to have anxieties about entering a political alliance, then that is understandable. BUT where there is both the will and determination, and where the need for alliance is clearly understood, then there should surely be a way forward, despite the differences in party programmes. At the end of the day, all opposition parties in The Gambia are claiming to be working for the betterment of Gambians and their country. Having said that, yesterday my message to the Gambian people was "act now or regret it for ever". Today my message to the Opposition parties in The Gambia is "COMPROMISE NOW, OR SINGLY LOSE OUT." The awful destruction that has taken place in our country, warrants us to come together tactically in order to rescue our country from its criminal hijackers. In the medium and long term, each party might and probably will have a different agenda for The Gambia, but in the short term, and in order to see the back of Jammeh through the ballot box, it is vital that we put these differences to one side, and work together with a common platform, to rescue our country. If we do not do it, if we do not start to work together, then our country will become ungovernable and beyond rescue. The leaders of our political parties are intelligent people and their parties have members who are people with keen brains, so really, if they are willing, they can handle and face the challenges that coalition will almost certainly mean. They can work together to govern our country in a post Jammeh and post APRC setting, despite the differences in policy and programmes. If they really bring their heads together, they can surely work out ways in which not only to accommodate each other, but to make the coalition a working reality which will be durable in the post-Jammeh Gambia. In the longer term, when the country has been rescued from its hijackers and has been stabilised, then it will make sense for parties to split and work on their own individual programmes. It is going to take all our combined efforts to bring about a restoration of true democracy in our country, but we CAN and MUST do it. The coalition is a short-term prescription to save our country from chaos, and to rescue it from the clutches of miscreants like Yahya. Once there is stability and signs of good governance, then the parties can opt out of the alliance and pursue their own interests. The question NOW, is HOW to get the alliance started. Well, since in The Gambia we have three main opposition parties, they can form a triumvirate, composed of either presidential candidates (Sidia Jatta, Ousainou Darboe, Hamat Bah) or their representatives. This triumvirate could then meet and work out the best way to achieve an alliance. A Summit, or Congress of these three parties can be held, and then delegates to the Congress can elect/select a unanimously-agreed presidential candidate who will be acceptable to all three parties. Again, this will not be an easy process, but compromise is the word and the way forward. It is important however, that the coalition should be headed by a candidate who is likely to draw more votes, who can unite his/her people and more importantly who has the competence and know how to manage a coalition government, who can minimise, if not prevent, differences. Of course, ministerial posts in a coalition government will be shared appropriately and as agreed, and each party would have its agreed quota of Ministers. At this point, we are not really talking about position, title or competition: it is about selecting and appointing a group of committed Gambians whose task will be the betterment of The Gambia (and in no way related to any political gain they could make). The timescale is very short. In order for a tactical alliance to be a meaningful force in Gambian politics, then the formation of the alliance and the modalities for it, have to be worked out and agreed upon by mid-August 2001 (if the election timetable goes according to schedule). Within this time span, the Alliance Coalition will need to have agreed: A. Their candidate for presidency B. Their election platform C. Their proposed governmental platform (policies) D. Named candidates standing for each constituency in the National Assembly elections. These are points which would have to be worked on straight away In simple terms, the alliance if it were set up in May, would have a three month timetable to prepare for the presidential elections. The specifics will be: 1. Get a triumvirate to work out the modalities 2. Hold a Congress of supporters of the three main opposition parties 3. Elect/Select a unanimously agreed Presidential candidate representing all opposition parties in the coalition 4. Support in every way its Presidential Candidate in the forthcoming election 5. Draw up a campaign programme for the elections, ensuring that each area of The Gambia is well covered. 6. Issue a joint Manifesto outlining what the coalition government would do(its programmes) in the short and medium term Time is critical: there is great urgency to get this process under way. The Presidential elections are scheduled for October, and the parties need to be ready to start their campaigning early in September. Be in no doubt that it is already very late in the day, and that we need to get a move on. Who is going to be the INITIATOR ? Well, it has to be a group of individuals who are seen as neutral and acceptable to all parties. The ideal group would be the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy in the UK and in the USA: they fit the bill, and can definitely do the job from initiation through to successful fruition. WHEN ??????? It has to be NOW. There is no time to spare. The timetable for the elections is short and we have to be ready and prepared for action. Basically, we are talking about a 12-14 week timetable from initiation to the start of the Presidential election campaign. My 25th Message to All Gambians will touch on the Alliance’s tasks in a post-Jammeh Gambia, and the measures which will need to be taken in order to consolidate the durability of the Alliance, so that it can at least succeed in implementing its short term programmes. Ebrima Ceesay, Birmingham, UK. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------