It would be a big disaster if elections are boycotted
because basically nothing will happen and the jammeh
government will siply continue to rule illegally.
We just have to remember what happen in Serbia and
Ivory Coast. Well we know jemus will try to rig the
elections but then the people should exercise their
democratic righs and defy the government.
For PDOIS WHY DID THEY NOT BOYCOTT THE FIRST ELECTIONS
WHEN CONDITIONS WERE MORE SEVERE.
We are fed up with the PDOIS inconsistencies and
abtract waffles . They never condemn the military
coup,
are they democrats or stuck with decayed marxish
ideologies.
--- foroyaa <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> We have followed the debates on the L regarding
> elections. PDOIS's position
> is that there can be no sovereign people without the
> exercise of their right
> to be architects of their own destiny.
> Representatives are mere emissaries
> of the people. Elections are instruments through
> which the people assert
> their authority to determine their manner of
> government.
> In our view a sovereign people can only take charge
> of their destiny if they
> are free from ignorance. They must know that they
> control power and must be
> determined not to allow any representative to usurp
> their power through
> intimidation or inducement and rule over them like
> monarchs. The unfortunate
> thing about the Gambia is that when it became a
> republic in 1970 no effort
> was done to spread enlightenment so that a new
> sovereign Gambian people
> would be born. Consequently, a sovereign republic
> emerged without the
> development of the sovereign people who could truly
> be the guardians of
> their destiny.
> Notwithstanding since periodic elections took place
> to determine
> representation, the sovereignty of the people still
> remained the corner
> stone for acquiring authority to manage the affairs
> of the country.
> The Coup of 1994 abrogated the essence of having a
> sovereign republic. A
> government was imposed not by inducing or
> intimidating voters but by
> negating the electoral system all together. This
> also negated the republic
> and transformed the country into a semblance of a
> monarchy.
> The fundamental task before the Gambian people was
> to restore the republic
> by restoring the sovereign rights of the Gambian
> people to select
> representatives. This is what had given birth to the
> second republic.
> PDOIS's position is that the restoration of the
> sovereignty of the people
> appears meaningless as long as the people are not
> enlighten to know how to
> ensure their liberty and prosperity through the
> ballot box. This however, is
> the task of democratic awakening. While a republic
> and the sovereignty of
> the people can be restored through the ratification
> of republican
> constitutions and holding of elections democracy has
> to be built by making
> the people to own their minds and make their own
> informed choices without
> fear or inducement.
> Secondly, restoration of the sovereignty of the
> people, become meaningless
> if elections can be rigged. The task of enlightening
> the people is a duty
> for every Gambian who loves his or her country. The
> task of creating an
> election machinery that would prevent elections from
> being rigged is also a
> duty that should be shouldered by every Gambian.
> This is precisely the
> reason why PDOIS is conducting civic education among
> the people while
> scrutinising the election machinery to ensure that
> standards are maintained.
> The 1997 constitution created an Independent
> Electoral Commission, which is
> suppose to be focal point for exercising management
> and supervision over the
> electoral system. It is empowered to demarcate
> constituencies, districts,
> and wards, register voters, set dates for elections
> on the basis of
> constitutional provisions, accept nomination papers,
> establish campaign
> period, control the issuing of permit, the coverage
> of candidates by the
> media, the introduction of a code of conduct, the
> conducting of voting, the
> counting of votes and the declaration of results.
> There is a constitutional guarantee that in the
> performance of its
> responsibility, the commission shall not be
> subjected to control by any
> authority.
> Prior to the by elections, the commission was under
> scrutiny by the Gambian
> public. It had demarcated constituencies by relying
> on the principle of
> equal representation for equal number of
> inhabitants. The actions of the
> commission was subjected to national scrutiny and
> even those who disagree
> with the commission could not advance any reasonably
> justifiable argument to
> back their disagreement. This gave the commission
> clout. It held elections
> in Sami and declared the results of each polling
> station, which ultimately
> led to unexpected results. This increased the
> confidence of the people. The
> commission went to court in order to get the Supreme
> Court to interpret
> certain provisions of the constitution, which
> affected its work.
> In short, the commission wanted to be bound by no
> other authority except the
> law. The commission created an inter-party
> consultative committee with a
> view to settle any disputes regarding the electoral
> system. A day was
> established to inaugurate the consultative body.The
> day before the
> inauguration, the chairman of the commission was
> removed as well one of its
> members. Out of the five members of the commission,
> one person died and
> another resigned prior to the removal of the
> chairman. Only one member was
> left, the commission was completely paralysed by the
> decision of the
> executive. It is clear that if the executive can
> actually remove members of
> the commission and create a state of total
> paralysis, how can its
> independence be safeguarded? What would prevent the
> executive from waiting
> until three months before an election, remove all
> the members of the
> commission and replace them with new appointees. The
> reason why the
> constitution established a fixed tenure and asserted
> for a tribunal of three
> judges to be established to review any allegations
> against a member of the
> commission is precisely to safeguard the
> independence of the commission.
> This is why PDOIS considers it a matter of principle
> to wait for the Supreme
> Court decision on the removal of the two members of
> the IEC one of whom is
> the chairman before working with the IEC. The
> Supreme Court has made a
> ruling that it will not stop the current appointees
> from doing their work
> prior to determining the constitutionality of the
> removal of the two IEC
> members. This gives the current appointees the
> Supreme Court mandate to
> operate. This is what legitimises their conduct of
> the by elections. PDOIS
> did not object to UDP participation in the by
> elections. PDOIS's position,
> however, is that a relatively legal legitimacy
> cannot be equated with
> constitutional legitimacy. In this case, the longer
> it takes the Supreme
> Court to determine constitutional legitimacy, the
> more a culture of impunity
> is consolidated. A wrong action that cannot be
> redressed with immediacy is
> given a cloak of legitimacy. This undermines
> standards in democratic
> governance. This is why PDOIS's refusal to cooperate
> with the current
> appointees is precisely to focus attention on the
> unconstitutionality of the
> action of the executive and the danger that poses to
> the independence of the
> electoral commission. The issue therefore is not
> whether PDOIS intends to
> participate in elections or not. That is a foregone
> conclusion. As long as
> we are convinced that the Gambian People can go in a
> voting booth and vote
> in secret; as long as our polling agents can be
> present in every polling
> station to monitor the exercise; as long as all the
> ballot boxes are opened
> at the beginning to be checked and closed in front
> of our polling agent; as
> long as those ballot boxes are at all times within
> the sight of our polling
> and counting agent; as long as counting takes place
> in front of our counting
> agent, PDOIS will participate in elections.
> Inducement and intimidation can
> only work if the people are not properly sensitised
> and emboldened. This is
> the challenge that all democratic forces must
> confront
=== message truncated ===


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