*Elections! Elections as 2011 looms nearer - Could there be a free and fair
election
under the current climate of rule of fear?- * *By Abdoukarim Sanneh, London

*


   The trial and imprisonment of Femi Peters, Campaign Manager United
   Democratic Party
   under out dated colonial law of Public Order Act 1961 amended Act 2009
   are an
   indication of democracy under trial. The Gambia is in a brink of eroding
   into political
   conflict with Yahya Jammeh's intolerant grip of power. In a country where
   a legitimate
   opposition parties do not have the right to hold a political rally one
   could not imagine if
   there can be free and fair election?

   Constitutional provisions of freedom of assembly and association are
   continually been
   violated. The Gambia is turned into a politicized police state. A
   politicized police force
   responsible for issuing permit for political rallies, while the so-called
   Independent
   Electoral Commission remains inactive and docile.


State institutions such as the police, army, prison service, immigration,
NIA and Gambia’s judiciary have turn into
repressive arms of the government in power. With the prevailing realities,
could there be any free and fair elections
under the rule of fear? Evaluative analysis is what should opposition
parties do before thinking of contesting for 2011
election? The affirmative answer is a united party led coalition for five
years term limit to transforming Gambia into
functional democracy.

There are two detailed studies on the Gambia, one on the administration of
rule of law and the other on the human
rights since 2006 by the International Bar Association and Amnesty
International. These two authentic and detailed
reports are very important pieces of information that came up with
recommendations that should be a source of political
activism and advocacy for engaging International community and Gambia’s
donor partners to put pressure on the
archaic and backward regime of Yahya Jammeh. The days of old fashion
politics have gone and I commend Save The
Gambia Democracy Project with its civility. Our opposition politicians
should learn a lot from the approach of Save The
Gambia Democracy. Yahya Jammeh has mastered the old fashion way of politics
and he is using that to his advantage
by tearing our communities apart to stay in power. Come 2011 Gambian
opposition parties should not go into election
without resolute stand in putting demands and conditionality’s that
constraint the process of democratisation in our
country.

Gambia Judiciary under pressure (2006) and Gambia fear rule (2008) are
reports that came up with series of
recommendations that cannot be ignored. The two reports are a vehicle for
pro-democracy campaign that Gambia's civil
societies in the Diaspora should use to re-engage our fragmented opposition
parties to logically think and re-strategise
the way forward to institute participatory democracy in our country. Without
radical stand from our opposition politicians
to lobby and advocate to end the rule of impunity going in our country now,
contesting in another partial election with
Yahya Jammeh, means putting life of innocent citizens in danger and many
more people will abstain from voting
because of fear rule- death threats, torture, arrest, sackings, enforced
disappearance, murder etc. There cannot be a
free and fair election in the Gambia come 2011 under the present climate of
rule of fear. Yahya Jammeh's greed for
power and wealth has only mirror elections as just a formality.

Gambia's opposition parties should reconnect with the Civil Diaspora
organisations to articulate principles and policies
for restoration of democracy in our country. They should put forward demands
and if they are not met 2011 election
should be boycotted. That will not be a problem, the criminal regime will
use delinquent politicians like Lamin Waa
Juwara and Hendry Gomez whose outrageous remarks is indicative that they
lack democratic conscience. It is the
politics of Gambia today they presume to be key partners when they are in
their whisky and brandy cocktail mood of
nonsense taking for only for newspaper headline grapping. In this moment of
our history, Gambia needs serious
politicians if there is to be free and fair elections in the country.
Prevailing atmosphere for freedom of speech and
expression, and rule of law should be put in place as conditionality, if we
want to make a political leverage for change
and also the participation of citizens in the democratisation process.

With the fragmentation of opposition parties, opposition leaders are muted
with virtual silence on the prevailing
madness. While others are engaging on irrational conceptualisation of the
agenda 2011 as the only way forward without
not dialecting on policies  for holding of free and fair election. My
message to them is that you are a political party not a
church and for that you require the support of voters actively to embrace
you and if you stop recognising that you will
continue to be taken back in long years of opposition that will served us
and the country so ill. Knowing that the current
rules are not unfavourable for level playing field I wander before talking
about opposition coalition now is the time for
consultative talking and engagement of our stakeholders for reforming crude
electoral process and its administration.
United State based Save The Gambia Democracy Project have started that
consultative progress been curtailed by ego
and utopian ideology. The regime continual assault on freedom of speech and
expression, the judiciary under pressure
for political manipulation, machination of electoral process and the
deficiency of 1996 constitution are all factors to put
into considerable that our country is so remote to institute sustainable
participatory functional democracy were the
electorate can influence a political change.

Gambia’s opposition politicians should wake up if they mean serious business
to participate in the restoration of
democracy. When should our political animals start to learn from the
experience of 1996, 2001 and 2006.  In these
elections, we have seen not only electoral malpractices but also
intimidation, harassment, torture, arrest enforced
disappearance and even murder of opponents during the time when freedom of
assembly, association, freedom of
speech and expression should be the focus of the political discourse. On the
16th October 2001, Ousman Ceesay a
militant of United Democratic Party was murdered by element of security
force in a political party campaign platform in
Serekunda. Tamba Fofana, Ousman Rambo Jatta, Kanyiba Kanyi, Momodou Lamin
Nyassi, Ndongo Mboob and Buba
Sanyang all become victim of enforced disappearance during and in the run up
to 2006 elections campaign. Fofana and
Jatta were later released after spending many months in illegal detention
and still nobody knows whether others are still
alive or death. In the same election in 2006 Dodo Sanneh a journalist with
GRTS was sacked for covering opposition
rally. Because of repression, both the print and electronic media abstained
from covering the campaign while the regime
used state resources including the radio and television to cover its
campaign process. The civil service, army, the police
and NIA were all involved in APRC politicisation.

Politics in the Gambia for the interest of peaceful transition to viable
democratisation need a strategic engagement of
the international community especially Gambia’s donor partners.  Yahya
Jammeh’s regime is cruel, brutal and a threat to
fragile peace and security of our region. It is only a united opposition
voice making conditional demands to the
International community to take such a threat seriously needs to put
conditionality and to make so the regime and the
international community that can averted the looming political conflict in
our country. Gambia is virtually a one man’s
show. We have a President turn a business man dominating all sectors of the
economy have no respect for political
party none did he want to consulted them state matters as stakeholders.

At this moment in time majority of Gambian are not interest in
 politicisation of ethnicity or irrational ideological battle or
one group thinking there have intellectual muscle to craft and captain the
boat to our destiny. Politics in the Gambia
today should be cross fertilization of ideas. We should be very mindful
politicisation of ethnicity in such a small
integrated country. Yahya Jammeh had understood the complexity of ethnic
politics and that is what he is using full time.
What Gambians should envisage is equal and fair society with rule of law and
social justice for all.

There is an urgent need for dialogue between opposition politicians and
should not only be dominate by coalition talking
but the way forward to develop and design a fundamental approach to put the
case of Gambia with a common voice to
our major donor partners such European Union, Common Wealth, UK Government,
United States Government, United
Nation, African Union and ECOWAS. The problem in the Gambia today is
democracy in crisis, rule of law, civil liberty and
human rights under assault. Our country is a looming failed state and we
need to put our acts together to avoid it
eroding into conflict. The power struggle within the opposition ranks all
driven with naked ambition to lead is not helpful
to the complex issues already in our hands. In a small poverty sicken
economy with a mentally sick paranoid dictator,
continually increasing the size of our security forces as if it is the only
employment in the country thus indoctrinating
them to turn against citizens should be a course for concern.

The 1996 constitution is draft in such a fashion that it excluded Gambians
in Diaspora involving in the electoral process.
Yet because of our patriotism, we continue to debate about Gambia and
related matters. We are key players in the
political dispensation of our country and its time our politicians listen to
us. We should not be seen for only political fund
raising but key players in policy matters to put in place participatory
democracy. It is time for them to think! What is the
essence of fund raising when we all know that the electoral process is
flawed and open to rigging? Some of them
continue to tell us that they are on the ground and knows what is happening
and think they can do things on their own
way. For those politicians I will say it is only money that matters to them.
Peace and stability of our nation is at stake.
Time to be frank and act together! There is a confidence swagger and
arrogance about many stars of Gambian
opposition politicians went it come to listening to views of many of us in
the Diaspora. There is always a very rare
opportunity for them to gaze on the world of democratic politics in Africa
example Zimbabwe, Kenya, Senegal, Mali etc
were the voice of the opposition forces the incumbent to circum to the rule
of good governance such as constitutional
and electoral reforms, national human rights commission etc to remedy the
rule of absolute power of the executive. In
Sudan today all the major opposition parties are boycotted election because
of lack level playing field. Can that not be
replicated in the Gambia? Yes we can do the same through unite in purpose!

2011 will be another election fiasco under present atmosphere of fear rule
if there is no unite opposition party coalition,
speaking on a common voice, act on a common platform, put forward
uncompromising demand for both electoral and
constitutional reform, lobby and sensitize the international community on
the deficit of current cosmetic democracy
under the rule of Yahya Jammeh. They should boycott the election if the
regime failed to meet the standards of good
governance.


-- 
*
*****************************************************************************
GOD BLESS SHEIKH PROFESSOR ALHAGIE YAHYA AJJ JAMMEH*
*(PRESIDENT FOR LIFE.)*
*
*
*GOD BLESS THE GAMBIA*
*
*
*GOD BLESS APRC*
*
*
*DOWN WITH THE FAILED OPPOSITION *


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