Hi Dr. Jeng!
                Thank you too for putting things in their proper perspective. I believe that the opposition played by rules put forth before the elections even if some were put forth at the last minute. If they were opposed to the rules and how the game was being played, why did they play? Why didn't they boycott the elections? To play by rules you deem unfair, lose and then try to cry foul is not the wisest thing to do. As far as I am concerned, the people have spoken and I respect their voice. It would be foolhardy and a waste of the meagre resources of the opposition to try to contest the validity of the votes at this time. I believe the right thing for all democrats to do is to respect the people's voice and move on to analyse the mistakes made and prepare for future elections. Thanks again for your input.
                                                                                                                                Buharry.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dr. Alhaji Jeng 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2001 11:05 AM
  Subject: Re: The People Have Spoken


  Thanks Mr. Gassama,

  Your words are wise. The total number of voters considering, the few irregularities pointed out cannot change anything even if they were corrected. As you said "The people have spoken" for better or for worse. 

  I wish to seize this opprtunity also to thank all those who participted in the flow of information keeping some of us abreast with the happenings at home. We must remember that these people cannot be held responsible for the figures of the election results published in the Gambia-L. I have seen here and there, where people like Tombong are being questioned on the credibility of the reported results. For me, they are not the right people to answer, even though they may be happy about the results. I feel that the right people to answer such questions are e.g Mr. Gabriel Roberts, Chairman of the IEC. Attacking those presenting us with results will not give us the answers we are looking for.

  Once again, we should be looking forward, we must move on.  The Parliamentary elections are fast approaching and, as far as I can see, the Opposition hasn't  lost everything yet. Securing the majority of the seats in Parliament can make the Opposition a strong force to be rekoned with during President Jammeh's next 5-year term. The work of the political parties, either individually or in coalition, is far from over, and the sooner this is realised, the better it will be for them.

  Alhaji






  Dr. A. S. Jeng 
  >From: MOMODOU BUHARRY GASSAMA 
  >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list 
  >To: [log in to unmask] 
  >Subject: The People Have Spoken 
  >Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 16:38:12 +0200 
  > 
  > 
  >Hi! 
  > 
  > I would first of all like to thank Miss Joof, Tombong and all who brought us the results as they were being announced. Thanks to the wonders of technology, we received these results in near real-time. Now that the people have spoken out loud and clear, I join Karamba in urging that we respect their voices. To the victors, I say congrats for gaining the trust and mandate of the people. To the vanquished, I say better luck next time. To all I say that the interest of our country should stand above individual interest. Everyone should strive to maintain the peace, stability and cohesion of our country in a region plagued by war and instability. 
  > 
  > To the victors I further say that the people have chosen you out of several choices. Do not let them down. Do all within your power to ensure the well-being of your citizens. You have made several promises during the campaign. Do your best to live by those promises. Remember that the peace and stability of our country depends on how you rule. If you rule with justice, democracy and sound economic, social and other policies, the people will reward you with another term in five year's time. If you rule with heavy-handedness, disregard the rights of your citizens, institute poor economic policies and encourage rampant corruption, you are inviting trouble and compromising the peace, stability and cohesion of our country. 
  > 
  > To the vanquished I further say, respect the will of the people for they have spoken. Do everything in your power to maintain the peace, stability and cohesion of our country. Be good losers and not poor losers. After the dust settles, go through your whole campaign process and identify where you went wrong and institute measures to counter these in the coming parliamentary elections and in five years' time. Do not engage in activities that will threaten the peace, stability and cohesion of our country. 
  > 
  > To Gambia-l I say thanks for keeping us in touch with what is happening at home. We have all been calling for democracy back home and respect for the people's will. Well, they have spoken and clearly chosen those they believe will lead the country to a better future out of a number of choices. While some might not agree with the choices the people have made, I say that is the challenge of democracy. Democracy involves giving people the chance to choose and respecting their choice. Let us therefore desist from making calls for actions and activities that will endanger the peace, stability and cohesion of our country. Let us remember that most of us live far away from home but we have relatives and loved ones back home. Calling for activities that might bring about civil strife cannot but take us backward not to talk about the probability of having relatives killed and maimed. Let us therefore be mature, restrained and objective in our pronouncements especially! at this crucial time. Let us in short not compromise the peace, stability and cohesion of our country. The people have spoken. Let us respect their voice. Thanks and have a good day. 
  > 
  > Buharry. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
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