Mr. Kanteh,
I think you and others' view that UDP sometimes
sends mix messages about their stance on issues
is a legitimate issue that the party needs to be
more careful about. I have observed similarly
and have made my comments to them (the party)
about it.
That said, the issue of their inconsistency in
their comments about the by-elections is a bit
exaggerated. What the party officials
(specifically Lawyer, Ousainou Darboe) said was
that the "voting and counting" were free and
fair. This, I don't think many people will
dispute. What I think was not politically
expedient was for them to heap praise on the IEC
and infect the government on the conduct of the
election for it was not by any measure free or
fair. It has been well publicized that the
process leading up to the voting was flawed and
the IEC did not do anything about it. Vis-a-vie:
vote buying.
I caution UDP to be more vigilant and act
promptly on any inconsistencies in the
electioneering process up to the October
elections.
YND
---- Begin Original Message ----
From: Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Mon, 7 May 2001 02:45:41 EDT
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: On the 'Alledged' UDP's
Inconsistencies and Hubris
Mballow,
I'm glad you understand the spirit behind my
constructive criticism of your
party. Please turn a deaf ear to that
incorrigible hypocrite and crass
imbecile, "Kebba Jobe". He was only attempting
to mischieviously create both
a psychological and political wedge between us.
In this - as in most of his
ill-advised attempts to clutter this List with
his filth - he shall fail
miserably.
However, i think in your response to my
position, you agreed virtually to
most of my charges without so much as uttering
it plainly. The gist of my
argument was that the UDP is inconsistent
afflicted at times and most of the
vital bread and butter issues concerning the
economy, security, social and
political issues that will grip a post Jammeh
Gambia has not been clearly
articulated by your party. Here is something
that you wrote that is a pointer
to the inconsistency charge - here presented in
the form of the mixed
messages you sent out after the by-elections of
Baddibu and Kiang.
<< The fraudulent conduct or the rigging of the
Kiang
by-elections by means of voting buying.These
matters
were under investigations by the party's legal
team
and they recognized strong irregularities in the
poll
and concluded that the results didn't reflect the
voters wishes. >>
Here one can see that your party leadership's
declaring of the by-elections
free and fair albeit a few hitches was not only
contradicted but reveals the
hubristic tendency of your party's communication
of vital information. If
these by-elections were under scrutiny by your
legal team, then all press
liaisions on the by-elections after you accepted
the outcome, manifestly
failed to show this. All the accounts of the by-
elections that i read online
haven't shown any sign that there was an
internal probe going on that seeks
to investigate allegations of electoral
malpractices. UDP should have
communicated this development forthwith soon as
it became a reality and not
dithered in public by saying different things
that clearly contradict the
actuality of things that chanced during the said
by-elections. Perhaps the
choice of words should not have been
inconsistencies but **incompetence**
i.e., incompetence in presenting their case
appropriately and tactfully to
the Gambian peoples and the world outside. Yet,
even the inconsistency charge
has not been effectively disarmed by you. Here
is something you wrote which
is another pointer.
<< The party had questioned the neutrality of the
electoral commission,**whose members are
Jammeh's hand
picked** and particularly Mr.Roberts who was the
the
commission's chairman during the 1996
presidential and
1997 National Assembly elections in which the
country
experienced a "transition without change." >>
If you have strong reservations about the
integrity of Gabriel Roberts et al
to fairly and freely conduct elections, then how
come you engage Roberts in
the said by-elections and in the process TACITLY
legitimising the illagal
chairmanship of Roberts? It reeks of both
inconsistency and hubris to
participate in by-elections that are
administered by an outfit whose
membership you aptly described as "handpicked by
Jammeh" and are virtually
his yes-men and turn still say you view those
members as illegal occupants of
a public office and contesting their ligitimacy
in court. My point remains
unrefuted: By contesting these by-elections, the
UDP's legal and moral case
against the IEC has lost its backbone. Not only
that, Roberts et al have
ironically and TACITLY been legitimised by your
participation in the said
by-elections.
All the best,
Hamjatta - Kanteh
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
URL:
http://hometown.aol.co.uk/hamzakanteh/myhomepage/
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