Does the National Assembly Have a Mandate?



The Independent (Banjul)

OPINION
January 28, 2002
Posted to the web January 28, 2002

Banjul, the Gambia

"If figures based on the probability of the outcome of the presidential
election in October were to speak for themselves, they would speak volumes
about the way the National Assembly election went.

The day passed as if nothing was happening in the nation. In fact it was
just a poor excuse for another holiday in a nation that cannot afford such
breaks.

The low voter turn-out placed a question on most peoples minds as to whether
this was really because the UDP boycotted, or whether because of the boycott
many did not see the point in voting. It was like a question of the chicken
or the egg dilemma. However, to better look at this fundamental question, we
must ask other questions before arriving at a more reasonable answer, one
that is not based on conjecture, or circumstance but on facts that have
simmered on the political scene at least for the past seven years.Having the
cake, eating it and choking on itFemi Peters of the UDP had granted the APRC
two of the three things above: "to have their cake and eat it". However,
what he did not add was that they might choke. The UDP's boycott seems to
have worked for now.

The voter turnout was depressingly low in the contested areas (15), and the
interest in the final outcome was even more depressing. In Bakau for
instance, many of the registered voters, (who were incidentally denied their
right to vote) could not vote (literally) because a candidate was not up to
the task to challenge the status quo thus providing for one of the most
fundamental principles of democracy- one man, one vote - which really
translates to forming a government by the people for the people and of the
people.

This means that there must be direct participation from the onset by the
constituencies in electing their representative, and in most cases where
there were no contests, this was clearly not possible! How then, would be
the next question: Can this legislature prove its mandate as being
legitimately chosen by the people they ultimately represent if most of them
(33) over 400,000 registered voters never had the opportunity to cast their
votes in order to legitimize their title and representation to the
legislature? Will they for the next five years be accountable by default to
the executive, or to the people because in actuality it must be realized
that at this point in those 33 no-contest zones, it was the president that
approved most of the nominations of those candidate, not the people!But this
should not have happened, as we will later learn in the coming years that
this act of immaturity by the UDP and ignorance and stupidity by the people
as well as the IEC's lack of genuine interest, by merely sticking to their
laws which were at that point not applicable due to the impact the boycott
may cause us as Gambians. We have just created the perfect scenario for a
dictatorship shrouded in a clothing of a majoritarian democracy. Femi Peters
was right that the APRC could have their cake, but he was wrong about the
cake. It is not theirs until the UDP, the IEC and the rest of us gave it to
them on a silver platter (the cake being the nation). He was right that they
could eat it and they certainly will because they have the largest share and
they are not in for equal distribution. He was not wrong about choking, they
will choke and will also choke as a nation when the anti-progressive bills
start passing and affecting us.It is important to note that the most
fundamental and important branch in any system of government is the
legislature. It the branch of government which makes the laws give the
government legitimacy and is ultimately judged by the law on which civility
is built as sacred as religion itself.

We on the 17th of January ignored that fact and refused to vote. What were
we thinking? What was the UDP thinking? And why did the IEC allow this
dangerous situation of boycott to take place without intervening to make
available a chance for persuasion as well as make room for independent
candidates to stand. In fact, they discouraged it.The only ones that thought
they were thinking (and history will prove them wrong) were the APRC. They
will eventually realize that greed is not good and that it is better to have
a viable opposition than none at all, for even God created the devil and
gave us a choice between good and evil. The 33 of the 48 constituencies that
make up this pin strip's political boundaries did not have a choice; we were
left, as we will see soon, to make do with what we have, instead of choosing
what we wanted.The next five yearsThe National Assembly will be interesting
in these coming years because with only three members in the opposition, we
will realise that although Hamat Bah, Sidia Jatta and Halifa Sallah will be
the only voice of dissent, they are actually immaterial. They may object and
make noise about bad and failing polices when the need arises, but such
dissent will fall on deaf ears. The majority of the APRC representatives
(and that is what they are) only have two objectives: To collect their fat
salaries and to ensure that their leader is protected at all times at the
expense of their constituencies. The National Assembly will be more of a
praise singers' forum, than a legislative body serving the interest of the
people. They will approve everything they are told to approve and desist
from critical evaluation of the laws and the projects that we will
ultimately live and die by and pay for respectively. The National Assembly
will become a club of APRC stalwarts who will be rewarded by one man for
upholding the party's principles to the detriment of the 47 percent of
voters that unequivocally rejected Jameh's regime.

That is disturbing and even dangerous for their own party encouraged by the
IEC and capitalized on by the APRC disenfranchised almost half of the
electorates that voted against Jammeh three months ago. will we be happy
with a representation like this one? A representation that barely consists
of half of the registered voters now taking over 94 percent of the
institution that makes the laws of then land?

This is the disparity in Gambian politics and it will be our test in the
next five years.

For power does corrupt (and the APRC is certainly powerful), and absolute
power, (and Jammeh's power will soon be absolute) corrupts absolutely! This
is the disparity and will perhaps be our stumbling block for years to come.
Beware and good luck!

The Messenger.



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