The following article is culled from Burning Issues (FOROYAA) Publication. I have tried to make paragraphs so that the text is easily readable and possible errors during this process are mine and not that of FOROYAA. You can send your request to [log in to unmask] if you want to be added to their mailing list for the Burning Issues. **************************** IEC's Test Case How UDP And APRC Struggle For The Minds Of The People It is true that in a sovereign republic the people should control power. The authority to lead them should be derived from their consent. This is done through elections. This is why a voting system which is free and fair is essential for the free expression of the will of the people. The IEC is the institution which should ensure free and fair voting in the country. The IEC was accused of helping the APRC to rig elections in the 1996/97 presidential and national assembly elections. Mr. Gabriel Roberts was accused of being the principal architect of the alleged rigging. Once the 1997 constitution came into force, Bishop Tilewa Johnson was appointed chairperson of the IEC. The establishment of an Inter-party Consultative Committee, the demarcation of constituencies without any influence by the state, the holding of a free and fair chieftaincy elections in Sami added up to give the IEC credibility. That credibility was put into question when the president removed the chairman of the IEC from office. This decision was considered to be unconstitutional. All opposition parties were opposed to the decision. International observers became concerned. The prospects of having free and fair election became dim. Initiatives were taken to challenge the constitutionality of the removal of Bishop Johnson and Imam Fatty. The appointment of Mr. Gabriel Roberts raised eyebrows. The UDP castigated him as the person responsible for their election loses in 1996/97. PDOIS indicated that the constitutionality of the removal of the members of the commission was its primary preoccupation and that the restoration of constitutionality was indispensable. Before the dust settled two national assembly members died in an accident. The IEC decided to prepare for by elections as stipulated by the constitution. The UDP and the NRP took a case to court and are represented by the UDP leader and Mariam Denton a UDP representative. One of the applications made by the UDP and NRP was for the Supreme Court to put on hold the operation of the new members of the commission until the constitutionality of the removal of the other members was decided. Prior to the decision of the supreme court, the UDP announced that it will participate in the by elections and any other elections held under the present members of the IEC. Soon after that the supreme court also ruled that it could not put the present operation of the IEC on held until the constitutionality of the previous members are determined. Mr. Gabriel Roberts invited the political parties to a meeting to gain their confidence. PDOIS declined to attend on the basis that the constitutionality of the removal of the previous members were yet to be determined. The APRC, UDP and NRP attended. The UDP and NRP came out of the meeting to make public declarations that an understanding had been reached with the IEC on how to handle electoral matters. Further consultation led to the agreement to count ballots at polling stations. This was announced by the UDP organising secretary at a rally. He indicated that this will eliminate any basis for rigging of votes at the level of counting. The organising secretary of the UDP confirmed to his audience that PDOIS was not present when the agreements were being made. PDOIS therefore was not a factor in the by elections. On March ... 2001, the APRC and UDP candidates submitted nomination papers for the Baddibu Central and Kiang East by election. Mr. Sekou Satou Saho represented the APRC while Mr. Lamin Ndanbung Dibba represented UDP for the Central Baddibu seat. Mr. Mahawa Cham represented APRC and Mr. Bakary F.B. Jarju represented the UDP for the Kiang East seat. The Campaign The campaign was taken very seriously by both sides. Mr. Ousainou Darboe, Mr. Lamin Waa Juwara and many key personalities of the UDP led the campaign for the UDP. Mr. Yankuba Touray, Mr. Nai Ceesay, Mr. Baba Jobe and many other cabinet members and personalities like Alhagi Banta Camara, Mr. Buba Baldeh led the APRC campaign. Commissioners and assistant commissioners joined the campaign trail. The Independent press gave ample coverage to the two sides and the electronic media also broadcast what is found in the pages of newspapers. The state radio and Television also gave coverage to the meetings as well as the broadcast of the candidates and their supporters. The radio and television coverage of meetings often lasted for one hour. The broadcast last for about 20 minutes. On the broadcasts, FOROYAA had just one complained from a UDP organiser that in addition to the television coverage at Njolofen they should have covered their rally in Masembe. Most of the party stalwarts of the APRC and UDP that our reporters interviewed felt that the radio and television coverage had been sufficient to enable the voter to hear the main messages and gauge the differences between the two parties. Alliances The presence of Dr. Lamin Saho in Baddibu on behalf of the APRC, Mr. Buba Baldeh in Kiang on behalf of the APRC and Mr. Hamat Bah in Njolofen (Kataba) on behalf of the UDP extended the nature of the campaign during the by elections. The issues raised at the campaign gave the impression that a presidential rather than national assembly election was at stake. President Jammeh was often presented as a leader who brought tractors, schools within the reach of farming communities, roads and hospitals. Voters were often told that opposition only leads to deprivation of facilities. Mr. Darboe was often presented as the next president of the Gambia who would get rid of all injustices which had happened since 1994. That the UDP has a manifesto and would bring development through its manifesto. The Key Features Of the Campaign For UDP UDP leadership raised the issue that groundnuts were not being bought on time thus causing hardships to farmers. They indicated that the APRC's failure to give state funeral to Honourable Buba Samura and Honourable Karamba Gassama signified that they had no respect for the people of Kiang East and Baddibu Central; that students were murdered on April 10 and 11th without the government taking action. A person like Fabakary Kolior Camara did explain how he was recruited into the July 22nd Movement and how they were mobilised during the 1996/97 elections to intimidate people. He explained his role in denying Mr. Juawara participation at the Conference in Mansakonko on reform of Local Government Structures. Sentiments were moved as he and the other asked for forgiveness and the APRC being warned not to touch them; that the UDP would inform the people that many of the projects started by the APRC are incomplete and cannot bring new projects to Kiang East and Baddibu Central; that there is the corruption which it said it will end; that APRC is building schools etc. but is not equipping the facilities properly. The Main Shortcomings Of The Campaign It is extremely incomprehensible why UDP allowed its platform at Njaba kunda to be used by people who openly called for Mandinkas to unite as Jolas are uniting and then allowed it to be broadcast nationally. The APRC's Key Issues The APRC claimed that they saw the national assembly members as Muslims who did not need state funerals, but state funeral is not a rule; that when Mr. Darboe insisted for a state funeral, they agreed but he rejected it just to make it a political issue; that where Mr. Darboe is from a Marabout had prayed that no one from that village should become a king; that those who aim to be kings should not go to the village; that Mr. Darboe does not go to the village; that the accident occurred when those people went to open a mosque at the village. In short, the APRC tried to put the blame on Mr. Darboe. They further went on to say that they took D42, 000 to the homes of the deceased to pay condolences but Mr. Darboe rejected; that they had intension for Jammeh foundation to pay the schooling of the children of the two national assembly members as well as provide them with compounds if they had none. The aim was to neutralise the damage done by not giving the two national assembly members state funerals. Furthermore, they mentioned the projects and challenged the UDP to explain how they will bring projects if they were in office. They tried to attacked the integrity of individual UDP members like Mr. Juwara. They explained that the groundnut problem was caused by the PPP sale of GPMB, that they have a liberalised economy which requires the private sector to purchase groundnuts; that tractors will increase. In appealing to the sentiments of the people, they continued to accuse the UDP as a tribalist party in order to win the votes from language groups in Kiang East and Baddibu Central. In order to alienate the finances of the UDP, the APRC started to use examples such as the following: Yankuba would say that he has built his own father's home but that many of the rich businessmen from Baddibu had abandoned their homes in Baddibu and have built homes in Pipeline. He would point out to the old corrugated iron sheets and broken pillars and ask why the rich businessmen would finance the UDP instead of building their homes in Baddibu for their people to live. Such campaigns were intensified as the casting of votes drew near. The Campaign Atmosphere According to the UDP, APRC and IEC a series of meeting were held between the stake holders to discuss how to ensure a free and fair elections. That campaign rules were made for the two parties to stay clear of each other while on their campaign trail. The Njaba Kunda incident where APRC intruded as the UDP held its meeting was seen as an infringement. The UDP has raised concern with the IEC but had acknowledged that calm return after some stone throwing by party supporters. FOROYAA reporters have not seen any one who considered the atmosphere totally inappropriate for the holding of elections. Up to the time of counting the ballots each party was confident of victory. Resources Both parties are fully financed. However, the APRC has overwhelming financial advantage. It is the party at the helm. Apparently, when president Jammeh indicated that politics was dirty he had in mind the accumulation of money to patronise voters. APRC used all forms of inducement to patronise voters. Election Tactics The UDP sent a delegation to Mr. Sheriff Dibba to give blessing to the candidature of Mr. Lamin Dibba. The Dibba factor played a part in their tactics. Apparently, they took for granted that Salikene has the largest number of voters and chose their candidate from there. Salikene had a total number of 2100 votes. APRC Tactics The APRC nominated candidates from Massembe and Salikene in anticipation that the two candidates would have a close race in their home villages. Having moved the chieftaincy to Kaiaf in Kiang East and Njaba kunda in Central Baddibu, the APRC expected high votes from these two villages. The fact that the people of Kabada, Kiang Central had pressurised their NRP candidate to visit president Jammeh where they declared that they were never in the opposition but voted for their own son as a sign of protest, lends credibility to the expectation that the people of Kabada in Kiang East would stick to the APRC. The Results On 31st March 2001, the results of the by elections were declared. In Kiang East, the total number of votes are 3, 831. 1, 056 voters did not vote. Out of the 2,775 persons who voted, Mahaw Cham of the APRC had 1, 784 votes or 64.29 percent while Bakary Jarju of the UDP had 991 votes or 35.71 percent. Out of the 5 polling stations UDP had majority only in Kolior. In Njolofen where Mr. Hamat Bah campaigned for UDP, APRC had 358 votes while UDP had 40 votes. This is important to note as people suggest alliances between opposition parties. Is it alliances alone that will bring victory or campaign issues.? Central Baddibu In central Baddibu, there are 7,320 registered voters. Only 4, 928 voters voted. 2392 people did not vote. This is equivalent to the votes of the APRC candidate. Lamin Dibba had 2534 votes or 51.44 percent. Sekou Satou Saho of the APRC had 2392 votes or 48.56 percent. There are 11 polling stations in Central Baddibu. APRC had more votes in Minteh Kunda, Kerr Pateh, Daru Rilwan, Nawleru, Najaba Kunda. UDP had more votes in Madori, Kinteh Kunda and Salikene. UDP has 1522 votes of its 2534 votes from Salikene. The Lessons The lesson is simple. In Kiang East, Buba Samura of the UDP had 1412 or 50.63 percent votes while Ansumana Sanneh of the APRC had 1377 or 49.37 percent votes during the 1997 national assembly elections. The difference between the two candidates was 35 votes in favour of the UDP. In 2001 the UDP vote shrinked from 1412 to 991 votes while the APRC vote rose from 1377 votes to 1784 votes. With the large amount of resources, the APRC had at its disposal during the campaign, it has managed to increase its votes by only 307. Furthermore in 1997, Mr. Abu Karamba Gassama of Central Baddibu had 3192 votes while Janko Fatou Jaiteh had 2298. In 1997 5490 voters cast their votes. In 2001 only 4928 cast their votes. The UDP vote dropped from 3192 to 2534 while the APRC vote rose by a small margin, from 2298 votes to 2392 votes. Analyst must ask why more than 2392 persons did not vote. Is it simply voters apathy? Were the votes bought which would also reflect lack of commitment to the voting process. FOROYAA has repeatedly said that opposition parties in the Gambia can never make head way in the Gambia until the minds of the people are liberated. In the latter days of Jawara's rule, the cross carpeting of opposition candidates after the people struggle vehemently to help them to win had made the people to be skeptical of opposition. It is necessary now to intensify the education of the people to understand the benefits of change. The people already know better than any one what suffering means under the order. What is not clear to them is whether voting for an opposition candidate can end that suffering or increase it. How to convince the people that even where the ruling party is in office electing an opposition national assembly member is still the best thing to do is the challenge before the opposition. One thing that is however clear is that tribalism in Gambian politics has no basis. Mandinka, Fula, and Jola speaking Gambians who have had candidates with supporters appealing to their sentiments should now abandon such sentiments and look for Gambian patriots who are ready to put national interest, justice and prosperity for all first before personal interest. It is important for the UDP and NRP leaders to draw the lesson that coalition among the opposition must be linked to issues that enlightens the masses and not just on personalities and sentiments. Furthermore, the UDP leadership should now build up a new party image. UDP cannot continue to work as a shadow of the PPP, NCP and GPP. If it is any body's view that the UDP is a coalition between the PPP, NCP and GPP then that coalition is no longer viable. What the UDP leadership should do as Decree 89 falls to pieces is to establish its own identity and leave the other parties to maintain their identity. FOROYAA has said over and over again that the past is totally discredited among the young people in this country. Any attempt by a party to link itself to the past will lead to voter apathy. Ex- president Jawara should simply seek to be an elderly statesman who will be respected and left to live the rest of his life in the country in peace and leave a new generation to handle our present challenges. At the moment, the biggest battle for change is the battle against ignorance and the battle for credibility for the forces of change. All opposition forces should reassess their situation and draw new lessons. In FOROYAA's view, the masses are losing faith in so-called educated people. They receive contradictory messages from them. There are those who are benefiting from the present state of things and others are hoping for a change of face so that they can be the new beneficiaries in the future state of affairs. Both elite or prospective forces do not want the masses to be aware. They just appeal to them on sentiments. All those who wish for change must join hands to combat the tactics of those who are looking for quick fix rather than doing the pain-taking work of enlightening the people and restoring their dignity and sovereign will to be the commanders of their own minds and destiny. This is the way forward for mental liberation and political transformation. ******************************************************* http://home3.inet.tele.dk/mcamara **"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible"*** ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------