The UDP-led Alliance’s boycott of the sham elections we have back home has
proved conclusively that the Alliance is the main Opposition in the country.
If nothing else, this boycott shows that both NCP, NRP and PDOIS are
nothing but pretenders. Here we have Parties that were pretending during
the presidential elections that they were national Parties. They had
support throughout the country and they deserved to lead a coalition against
Yaya. Now, when rubber met road, these Parties cannot even field enough
candidates to cover a third of the seats in Parliament. NCP even went to
the extend of openly campaigning for the same Party that tormented all these
years and banned their leader from politics. This is simply pathetic. To
add insult to injury, the electoral laws in the country are such that if one
‘Opposition’ candidate wins, he/she would have done so at the mercy of APRC.
But the boycott did not just stop at exposing the impotence of the
‘Opposition to the Opposition’. Because of this action, the whole world now
knows we have a charade being paraded as democracy. More than 80% of the
electorate would not partake in these elections. Clearly, the people that
are going to populate the Parliament do not have the mandate of the masses.
These people will be in Parliament passing draconian Decree upon draconian
Decree so long as Yaya and his cohorts send legislation to Parliament.
Having a handful of so-called Opposition members of Parliament will NOT do a
darn thing about the illegality that goes on in that Parliament every
sitting.
It is refreshing that UDP realizes the futility involved in pretending to be
an Opposition when one is only legitimizing a Dictatorship. I am also glad
to learn that UDP would take its ‘fight’ out of the Parliament. The
Parliament is no venue for a fight. The deck is already stalked in there
against the Opposition. Who can name one single legislation the Parliament
has ever passed that is remotely critical to the government? Better still,
who can show us one sentence that was spoken by one APRC MP that is remotely
critical to the government, say, vis-à-vis the massacre of our children on
April 10 and 11, 2000? We all know that this Parliament is a joke and the
Parliamentary election, a charade.
The crimes this government engages in can be fought elsewhere. We have the
streets, the Press and the courts. Take the scandal Yaya was involved in
regarding the ‘Crude Oil’ from Nigeria. Did the Gambian people get redress
from Parliament? Move to April 10 and 11, 2000. Did the Gambian people get
redress from Parliament? Instead, what we got from Parliament was an
unconstitutional Decree indemnifying the people that slaughtered our
children. This Parliament is a joke. All Parliamentarians (APRC, NRP and
PDOIS) will be part of the charade. By partaking in these elections, they
have legitimized the crimes of the IEC and when they are in Parliament, they
will NOT have an impact there. Halifa Sallah and Hamat Bah can shout all
they want if the APRC have mercy on them and let them into the Parliament.
The bottom-line is, they will NOT be able to influence any legislation. It
is telling that these ‘Opposition’ candidates were NOT talking about
legislation they would propose in Parliament. Hamat Bah, as usual, was
saying nothing. Halifa Sallah on the other hand could only promise his
would be constituents his salary if he gets elected. The man is wise. That
is the only money he can offer them when you think of it. Surely he is NOT
thinking about influencing Famara Jatta’s ‘budget’ to cater for Serrekunda
Central. This state of affairs is simply pathetic. Whichever way you slice
it, APRC is abusing the ‘Opposition’. NRP and PDOIS will legitimize the
Dictatorship and when they get to Parliament, they would NOT get anything
from Parliament apart from their sorry salaries.
KB
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