KB:
Just a quick answer to your questions for  I am fast losing interest in a
debate which has shown that the 'voter buyout' theory holds little water as a
MAIN explanation for the election debacle thory in Kiang.  My comments are
below yours:

<<Show me where you talked about 1997 bye-election figures? Was this a typo on
your part? Tell me who is 'acting' about what he is reading and writing?>>

A simple typo: It should have said 1997 instead of 1996 parlamentary
elections.  Key word here is parliamentary (not presidential)  elections.

<<Don't speculate. Give us FACTS gathered by politicians and political
pundits>>

The facts are the record on Gambian voter trends.  Go look them up in any
archive and you will see that election turnout has always been low in The
Gambia whether they be parliamentary or presidential.  Why do you think Kiang
would be different in 2001?  The similarity in numbers strengthens my theory.
 Usually low election turnouts are due to voter apathy.  This is a known
fact.  I am also Gambian you know.

<<The mere fact that there was lowvoter turn-out in the past does not prove
that that will happen in future.??>>

Keep deceiving yourself.  The numbers don't lie when they show that these
patterns have been repeated with utmopst regularity over the past 30 years
and more.

<<Granted that there has never been 95% turn-out in Gambian elections. It is
also a fact that the issues that faced Gambians in Kiang of 2001 have never
faced them before. You have to look into what energizes people to go out and
vote. That is where the Opposition is at. The mere fact that there was low
voter turn-out in the past does not prove that that will happen in future.>>

What on Earth are you talking about?  The 95% was in reference to your 'voter
buyout' theory.  The suggestion is a good one though.  Perhaps a survey by
the UDP would help achieve this task.

<<On the July 22 Movement, I hope you are not telling me that the threat they
pose is not real. 'People do not fear them. The thugs can easily be ran out
of town'. I remind you about what happened in Baddibu. If Gambians are lucky
enough to escape from this thuggery with their lives, they are then faced
with a corrupt judiciary that ensures APRC thuggery prevails. The Basse
Ambush and the murder charges pending against Darboe and other UDP leaders
is also another case in point. People on the ground that experience this
lawlessness take it seriously. If you want, you can just brush it aside. We
know better>>>

I simply don't buy that this is a significant factor.

<<I don't know what arguments you are saying are based on 'unsubstantiated
facts'. If it is the vote-buying, then I don't know what to say to you. If
APRC stalwarts like Joke can detect the hanky-panky and admit it, I cannot
see why you are having difficulties detecting it.>>

Again you bring up Joke.  I can't help you with that one.  Rely on his facts
at your own peril



<<<Who says the Opposition does not have a strategy to combat low turn-out due
to voter-apathy? You can make the suggestion to the Opposition without
saying that no one else is thinking about it. I am not a member of these
parties, but I give people benefit of the doubt in certain instances. We are
going to embark on a voter-registration drive in Gambia. Do you think the
Opposition back home is not cognizant of that fact and will try to register
as many voters as possible? Numerous people on G_L spoke to this topic. But
they did not start by belittling our leaders for not thinking about the
obvious and getting the whole picture wrong.>>>

Where did I say that the UDP does not have a future strategy to combat these
problems.  The only problem is they have not laid out this strategy to the
people.  This is important in my opinion.  And where did I ever belittle an
opposition leader?  What a load of crock!

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