KB,
Thanks for the poweful piece on an important topic- the Oct election. I must
say though that with recent pronouncement of the IEC he dice is cast. They
are ready to rig!!But everyone expects that. Imagine the reason Roberts gave
for not supporting onsite counting- post counting security. Laughable
indeed.  The IEC should be more concerned with making sure that elections
are free and fair. Post - election security issues are not issues for the
IEC. In any event violence as we know it in recent times has been
perpetrated on Gambians by the security forces, or by aprce supporters. So
if that is the main concern, they should simply refrain from inciting
violence and thre would be no threat to security after the onsite count.

But KB, I am not so sure that as things stand, boycott should be the
response, because boycott or not these people are going to make sure that
the results favor them. The real answer is for the opposition leaders, in
addition to viewing the election as an "existential" issue, (as Karamba
aptly put it), to be prepared to REJECT doctored results and to make sure
that a new aprc regime does not rule. This means taking to the streets. Here
again, the prospects are not good because, so far Gambian opposition leaders
have not demonstrated the courage to take on this illegal regime safe
through letters, petitions and meaningless court actions, under a
non-functioning judiciary. Consider, for example, the recent lame petition
sent to the president by the banned political leaders on the decree 89 as
published in the Independent of July 16, 2001. I paste it below for those
who did not see it. In this petition, the petitioners are aguing about the
legitimacy of Decree 89 and for the president to make amends etc. A big
joke! What makes them think that this man after all these years and after
all the recent revisions of the constitution to meet his personal needs,
would now say: "Ok you guys have a point, this decree is now annulled". The
contents of this petition shpould have been simple: Ban the decree or we
will unban ourselves, come what may. Also for the active opposition parties,
they should say that rigged elections will not be tolerated, come what may.
On that premise, they can boycott and then be prepared to own the streets
until justice prevails.

AT
-----
Banned Politicians Protest

The Independent (Banjul)
July 16, 2001
Posted to the web July 16, 2001

Alhagie Mbye
Banjul, the Gambia

Reliable sources close to State House say
leaders of political parties banned under Decree
89 have petitioned President Jammeh urging him
to immediately lift the ban to enable them
exercise their fundamental rights as citizens of
The Gambia.

According to the sources, the petition criticised
President Jammeh for what its authors call his
reluctance to lift the ban just a few months before
the polls. The president, according to the sources
was reminded by the politicians' petition to keep a
promise he made to the Commonwealth and the
international community about repealing the
decree before the October polls.

The politicians insisted that in the interest of
justice, fair play and democracy, the decree
should be declared null and void.

The politicians maintained that Decree 89 is
unjustifiable and discriminatory in the face of the
political activities of other former politicians
banned, some of whom have thrown their weight
behind the ruling APRC.

According our sources, the petition was assented
to by leaders of the erstwhile National Convention
Party (NCP) of Sheriff Mustapha Dibba, the
former Gambia Peoples' Party (GPP) of Assan
Musa Camara, and the PPP represented by
former Agriculture Minister Omar Jallow.

They said they would not hesitate to outline that
Decree 89 is not in consonance with the
democratic constitution and that it was time
President Jammeh knew about their concern for
the country's political situation.

When our reporter contacted Assan Musa
Camara of the GPP, he confirmed the petition,
adding that it has already been sent to President
Jammeh. Mr. Camara said the petition sought to
impress upon the president the nullifying nature
of the decree and why it should be removed from
the statue books where its continuous existence
was no longer acceptable or desirable. Mr.
Camara however, noted that they do not want to
publicise the contents of the petition now.

Sheriff Dibba of the NCP, on his part, promised
to contact The Independent regarding the matter
later. Omar Jallow (OJ) who is currently involved
in a court battle against the government over the
constitutionality of the decree was not available
for comments..




>From: Dampha Kebba <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Vote-Counting  ---- Boycott October Elections
>Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 11:14:11 -0400
>
>Now that Gabriel Roberts has unashamedly acknowledged in public that he is
>impotent, the little confidence the Opposition Parties reposed on him has
>been compromised. Clearly this man cannot be trusted to do what is right in
>the coming elections. If this nonentity continues to run the show at the
>IEC, the Opposition Parties should NOT even continue to meet with him. What
>man with influence will agree one thing with the Parties, and then renege
>on
>his word the moment he talks to Yaya and Yaya offers a contrary view?
>
>Can this man be trusted on Election Day to announce results that would show
>that Yaya lost the elections? Ten-year-old Gambians know that Gabriel
>Roberts will NOT do that. To facilitate their task to rig the elections,
>they (APRC and Roberts) want to centralize the vote counting. That way
>ballot boxes can be tampered with as they are moved from polling stations
>to
>regional centers where the votes should be counted. Centralizing the
>counting will also ensure that fewer people will have to be corrupted in
>order to announce bogus results for Yaya.
>
>The shenanigans of these vermin is so transparent that it is laughable. The
>Opposition Parties did good by walking out on the APRC crony. He is at his
>position for one reason only: to RIG elections for Yaya. As a follow-up,
>the
>Parties should refuse to deal with Roberts until everyone is convinced that
>the man is potent. If he has to clear every significant decision with Yaya,
>then why deal with the nonentity? Let us go straight to Yaya and deal with
>him. Dealing with Gabriel Roberts just adds 'legitimacy' to the whole
>process and makes things appear as if we are in a democratic environment.
>This is a Dictatorship where Yaya is the only one making the major
>decisions.
>
>Let us not compromise on this issue. If the votes are not counted at the
>polling stations, then we should not participate in the elections. If
>Gabriel Roberts continues in this cronyism, we should not participate in
>the
>elections. Do people think that on Election Day if Gabriel Roberts goes to
>Yaya to 'clear' the results, Yaya will 'allow' Roberts to declare results
>that will say that Yaya lost? To show that he is indeed independent of
>Yaya,
>Roberts has to deliver on this 'vote counting' issue and other vital issues
>affecting the campaigns (such as media access). Roberts also has to address
>the 'challenges' to the voter registers.
>
>If Roberts does NOT address these matters favorably, the Opposition should
>boycott the elections and prepare their supporters to go and flush Yaya out
>of the State House when his mandate expires in October.
>KB
>
>_________________________________________________________________
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