-- Independent Newspaper <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Published by The Independent  Newspaper
>

> Extreme errors
>
>
>
> In the recent past, President Jammeh seemed to have
> disagreed with the
> Independent
> Electoral Commission (IEC) in the demarcation of
> constituency boundaries
> without going to
> the people.  He was quoted, as saying that he will
> dissolve the IEC
> after the elections, (The
> Point Friday June 1, 2001).  He has said that the
> IEC has no mandate to
> enact laws.
> Therefore he said his government would not accept
> any individual or
> institutions that are out
> to sabotage their development efforts.  He made
> those remarks whilst
> addressing a meeting
> with the committee of elders from Banjul on
> Wednesday 30th May.  He
> advised the elders
> to preach the message of peace, discipline,
> tolerance and development in
> their
> communities.  Secretaries of State Ousman Badjie and
> Nai Ceesay also
> told the delegation
> that Banjul will still retain its three
> constituencies and urged the
> people of Banjul to register
> for the forthcoming general elections.
>
> In another development, the IEC is said to be
> holding talks with the
> country’s political
> parties over which method of vote counting to
> implement when voting ends
> on Election
> Day.  With the exception of PDOIS which still
> boycotts IEC meetings
> following the sacking
> of Bishop Solomon Tilewa Johnson at the end of last
> year, all political
> parties, APRC,
> UDP, NRP and GDP are said to be taking part in the
> discussions that may
> determine
> whether the counting of votes should take place at
> polling stations
> immediately after the
> casting of votes.
>
> Communiqués from the parties addressed to the
> administrative secretary
> of the IEC have
> subscribed to the counting of votes at various
> polling stations
> immediately after the closure
> of voting.  The parties expressed the belief that
> this measure would be
> fairer, transparent
> and less expensive in terms of logistics to conduct
> the elections.  They
> also observed with a
> certain degree of apprehension that the
> transportation of ballot boxes
> from remote areas to
> divisional headquarters by security agents who have
> been known to be
> partisan in favour of
> the ruling party.  They added that during the 1996
> elections, some party
> agents witnessed
> what they called ballot fixing while others were
> intimidated, harassed
> and even beaten by
> security personnel, and based on that experience,
> the opposition believe
> that a considerable
> part of the electorate are reluctant to exercise
> their voting rights,
> believing that vote-rigging
> through force will mar voting day.
>
> Meanwhile the APRC has expressed reservations over
> the suggestions of
> counting votes at
> polling stations immediately after the polls close.
>
> The ruling APRC has refused so far to accept the
> method suggested by the
> opposition.
> According to a letter from the party dated 12th June
> and signed by the
> deputy
> administrative secretary Kebba Kinteh the APRC
> leadership demanded to
> know the
> rationale behind what he called the abrupt departure
> from the
> traditional method of counting
> which it argued has proven to be hitch-free,
> transparent and of less
> security risk.
>
> The APRC is of the opinion that the IEC should liase
> with the government
> particularly the
> security forces and not political parties if an
> informed decision on the
> matter is to be taken
> (The Independent page 1 and 2, 15 – 17 June 2001).
>
> My first advice is to PDOIS a party I do not belong
> to but whose
> principle I respect. Their
> enlightening of the electorates, particularly the
> booklets they wrote on
> the Constitution
> during the stormy weather of the transition to
> democratic rule is
> commendable.  Can
> PDOIS not see from the references of The Point and
> The Independent
> quoted above the
> reasons for sacking Bishop Johnson or do they want
> APRC or the court to
> tell them?  In
> my view, all parties should compromise their
> principles in the interest
> of the country just to
> give a new lease of life to politics in this
> country.  Otherwise, it
> will be like sacrificing the
> country for PDOIS’ principles.  Please blend your
> energies and
> experiences for the good
> of the country.
>
> As for UDP, please forget about pursuing Mahawa
> Cham’s victory in court
> and work for
> the coming together of the many heads of the
> opposition parties to
> rescue this country from
> the clutches of the APRC.  The only party that the
> APRC often accuse of
> sowing seeds of
> discord and tribalism is the UDP.  Well all those on
> the side of God and
> the truth who are
> concerned with the proper development of The Gambia
> know why.  It is
> because the party
> carries a lot of support as evidenced by the 1996
> presidential election
> results which
> appeared after the declaration of the results by the
> PIEC, in a foreign
> newspaper.  From
> then to now, the UDP is APRC’s headache and will
> remain so as long as
> the political
> complexion of The Gambia remains the same.
>
> As for the APRC, the party has a problem without
> seeing it, much more is
> to listen, even to
> opposing views which are progressive and for the
> good of the country.
>
> I must admit, I supported the AFPRC takeover from
> the 25th July, 1994
> after I read the
> interview with the then Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh by
> Rodney D. Sieh of the
> Daily
> Observer, who was also the BBC correspondent in
> Banjul, together with an
> earlier one by
> Momodou Musa Secka, also of the Daily Observer, at
> State House on Friday
> 22nd July,
> 1994 (see Daily Observer Monday 25th July, 1994,
> page 8 and 9) under the
> heading of
> “Why we took over”.  Parts of the interview, which
> influenced my
> support, were as
> follows: -
>
> Daily Observer: How soon should we expect a new
> government to be named?
>
> Lt. Y.J: A new government will be named as soon as
> possible.  We are not
> naming a
> government now, because we need the support of the
> civilians,
> intellectuals and patriotic
> Gambians who are clean, who will make sure that they
> serve in their
> appointments without
> fear or favour and for the good of every Gambian.
>
> D.O: What are your plans for the establishment of
> democracy, which was
> one of your main
> objectives for taking over?
>
> Lt. Y.J: Well, as soon as a new government is
> instituted, which is
> composed of mostly
> civilians, democracy would be in place and we will
> welcome all
> contributions from all
> corners of the country to make sure that everything
> is done in the right
> way and that
> transparency and accountability will be the order of
> the day.  We will
> not tolerate any sort
> of corruption; we will not be secretive in anything
> that we do.  We want
> the press and the
> international community, including Gambians, to
> criticise us where we go
> wrong.  We are
> not here for praises; we are not here to enrich
> ourselves.  We are here
> to set up a just
> system that is not corruptible, to make sure that
> the living standards
> of Gambians will be
> augmented to an acceptable standard within the
> limits of our resources.
> But we are not
> here to use the limited resources of the country for
> our own good at the
> detriment of the
> masses.
>
> D.O: Will you make any effort to question them about
> the whereabouts of
> government
> funds?
>
> Lt. Y.J: Well, it is up to them to come back as
> Gambians and account for
> whatever they
> have to account for.  But as for the president, we
> all know that we owe
> it to him that the
> name of The Gambia has reached that international
> level and we respect
> him.  But the
> people who were behind him misled him. They were
> corrupt, did whatever
> they wanted to
> do because he was too lenient.  We have no intention
> of harming him –
> the former
> president – or humiliating him.  We want to treat
> him as an elderly
> man.  He is free to come
> to the country as a Gambian citizen and we can
> provide for his security
> if he needs it, and
> from time to time we will need to consult him.  We
> will not sideline
> him; we will consult him
> for advice.  We have nothing against him, but the
> people behind were
> doing whatever they
> wanted, uncontrolled.
>
> D.O: So how soon, then, can the ordinary Gambian
> say, “I am looking
> forward to free and
> fair elections”, what timetable can you give.
>
> Lt. Y.J: Well, we are not giving any timetable for
> free and fair
> elections.  That does not
> mean that we are here to stay long; we are not here
> for that.
>
> D.O. How long, then?
>
> Lt. Y.J: I cannot give you a fixed timetable because
> we have to a make
> sure that Gambians
> are aware of what their rights are, what kind of
> leader they want and
> what type of system
> they want to put into effect in this country, that’s
> all.  And we also
> want to make sure that
> the term of the presidency in this country is
> limited.  We don’t want
> life presidency, a
> president who will rule for decades. So from that
> you will know that we
> are just
> transitional.
>
> D.O: So what term are you suggesting for the
> presidency in The Gambia.
>
> Lt. Y.J: Well that will be up to the Gambian people.
>  I cannot decide
> for the people.  I am
> no here to dictate what should happen to Gambians.
> We will organise a
> national electoral
> commission and a referendum as well to ask the
> people of The Gambia what
> kind of
> leaders they want and the term of office they want
> that leadership to
> serve.  Certainly it will
> not be a term that will exceed ten years.  In fact,
> ten years is too
> much for a third world
> country like The Gambia, so we will make sure that
> there’s a democratic
> system of
> government, that will be elected by the people and
> can be kicked out by
> the people if they
> don’t want it, peacefully, and through the ballot
> box, and that’s all we
> want (Daily
> Observer, Monday 25th July, 1994 page 8 and 9).
>
> A delegation of the AFPRC led by Chairman Jammeh
> visited Senegal and at
> the end of that
> visit, he was quoted as telling the press that the
> AFPRC will hand over
> to civilians after four
> years.  On his return he was quoted as telling the
> press that what he
> told the Senegalese
> press was that AFPRC will rule for years before
> handing over to
> civilians.  However, when
> the AFPRC presented their timetable for democratic
> constitutional rule
> in the presence of a
> large crowd including the diplomatic community, on
> Monday 24th October
> 1994 at the
> Independence Stadium, it stretched from November
> 1994 to December 1998,
> a period of
> four and a half years.  What a beautiful coincidence
> with the Senegalese
> press’s wonderful
> guess was my reaction; what was yours Mr. reader or
> did you not hear
> it?  Indeed that
> timetable gave rise to reactions of all types at
> home and abroad.  This
> necessitated the
> setting up of a National Consultative Committee,
> which submitted its
> report in January
> 1995.  The AFPRC yielded to the wishes of the
> majority of Gambians to
> arrange to return
> the country to democratic rule in two years with
> effect from 22nd July
> 1994.  I withdrew
> my support for the AFPRC when the draft constitution
> was released
> because I was sure
> that the four-man Council was out to take Gambians
> for a ride and they
> had an agenda to
> rule for more than a decade as opposed to the
> Chairman’s promise in his
> interview with
> Rodney D. Sieh that ten years was too much for a
> third world country
> like The Gambia.  A
> committee set up by the council, the Constitutional
> Review Commission,
> after a
> countrywide consultation, recommended two terms of
> five years.  The
> draft of the
> constitution did not do this at the discretion of
> the four-man council.
> Gabriel Roberts, the
> then Chairman of the Provisional Independent
> Electoral Commission
> confirmed this in an
> exclusive interview with the Daily Observer by
> stating that “a great
> majority of Gambians
> had recommended that the term of the president
> should be limited to two
> terms of five
> years each which, he continued, was contained in the
> report submitted to
> the council” (for
> full story see Daily Observer May 17 – 19, 1996 page
> 1 and 14).  In
> fact, Gambians
> should question why at the tail end of their term in
> office the APRC
> should embark on so
> many constitutional amendments but still ignoring
> the wishes of the
> majority of Gambians to
> limit the presidential term to two terms of five
> years each.
>
> Going back to the IEC discussion with parties on
> which method of vote
> counting to
> implement when voting ends on election day, the
> truth is clear and
> simple.  Four parties are
> taking part in the discussion and three of these are
> in favour of the
> counting of votes at
> various polling stations immediately after the
> closure of voting.
>
> The APRC does not support this idea, which was
> introduced by our
> God-fearing Bishop
> Solomon Tilewa Johnson at the time of the Sami
> Chieftaincy election. It
> is said that
> according to a letter dated 12 June and signed by
> the deputy
> administrative secretary
> Kebba Kinteh the APRC leadership demanded to know
> the rationale behind
> what it called
> the departure from the traditional method of
> counting which it argued
> has proven to be
> hitch-free, transparent and of less security risk.
>
> Well it appears that consultation with government is
> not the best in our
> situation. I have no
> doubt that Bishop Johnson as vice chairman of PIEC
> and returning officer
> for the Western
> Division in the 1996 presidential elections learnt
> some lessons which he
> decided to put into
> practice when he became Chairman of the IEC. The
> method of vote counting
> he has
> introduced cannot certainly be a source of convert
> for all parties
> especially the weak ones.
>
> I suggest that the APRC start to listen to and
> respect opposing views
> intended for greater
> transparency. The other side of the answer is that
> the traditional
> method the APRC referred
> to as hitch-free was so until before the 1996
> presidential elections. In
> the history of
> elections in The Gambia the only election, which had
> the results that
> later, appeared in a
> foreign newspaper was the 1996 presidential
> elections. I can say that
> the PIEC made their
> move widely known by issuing a press release over
> Radio Gambia that some
> results of the
> presidential elections were going round but that
> they were not authentic
> because it was not
> signed.
>
> I am surprised that the APRC now want us to go by
> tradition in respect
> of vote counting.
> Where were the ears of the AFPRC Council members
> when parties wanted to
> maintain the
> tradition of holding presidential and National
> Assembly elections on the
> same day? Why
> was the ruling party conspicuously absent from the
> reconciliation
> meetings initiated by
> members of the student union after the January 1997
> elections?
> While students were crying for justice following the
> death of Ebrima
> Barry, government
> security agents caused the nation to shed more tears
> by adding another
> 14 young corpses
> to that of Ebrima Barry. The European Union, the
> international
> community, individuals,
> embassies and high commissions all expressed concern
> over the matter but
> everyone was
> later disappointed with the cabinet’s decision to
> reject the
> recommendations contained in
> the report of the Commission of Inquiry into April
> 10. But the APRC
> turned a deaf ear to
> the people’s legitimate appeals for justice.
>
> During one of the debates of the National Assembly,
> I heard the
> Secretary of State for the
> Interior Ousman Badjie saying that it was for fear
> of revenge that the
> white man in South
> Africa opted for a Truth and Reconciliation
> Commission. Yes Mr. Man of
> Law but don’t
> you think that it is far better than The Gambia
> government’s amendment
> of the Indemnity
> Act as the basis for reconciliation and burying all
> the truth?
>
> Let us all retract our politics and save our country
> from the path of
> destruction, which is
> where we seem to be heading.
>
> Even our young people are aware that politics in The
> Gambia has never
> been worse than
> what it is today.
>
> Let me now leave all Gambians with these wise words
> from Maya Angelou,
> the black lady
> who was Bill Clinton’s choice to compose a poem for
> his swearing in
> ceremony. “I don’t
> tell everything I know, but what I do tell is truth.
> There’s a world of
> difference between
> truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth”. “And
> still I rise” she
> said “you may write me
> down in history with your bitter twisted lies, you
> may trod me in the
> very dirt but still like
> dust I’ll rise”.
>
> So as an opposition sympathiser, I sound critical of
> the government but
> what I support is
> the truth. This is why I sometimes defend President
> Jammeh in opposition
> circles but he
> embarrassed me during his ‘Meet the People Tour’
> last year when he said
> at a meeting in
> the Nianija area ‘meng mang lafi mansa kunda la i te
> mansa kunda la kodo
> domola’ (he
> who does not support the government will not benefit
> from the government
> money). This I
> heard one night during the highlights of the tour on
> Radio Gambia. It
> only sent me laughing
> as I said President Jammeh does not know but Mansa
> Kunda has no money.
> The money
> belongs to all Gambians Mansa Kunda is just a
> custodian to apply the
> funds for national
> development irrespective of tribe, religion or party
> affiliation.
>
> Next time I shall explain what it means to belong to
> a party but support
> the truth at all times
> to restore what Gambians are known for from colonial
> times, which makes
> us hospitable
> peace loving and law abiding.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


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