The text below is issued by the Central Committee of PDOIS.
Adama


P.D.O.I.S.



Agenda For Service To People, Country And Community


Election Platform Of PDOIS' Candidates For 2002 National Assembly Elections

Introduction

The Gambia is a sovereign Republic. The country belongs to the people. Each
Gambian has equal authority to determine who will manage the affairs of the
country. This is why section one of the constitution states that " The
sovereignty of the Gambia resides in the people of the Gambia from whom all
organs of government derive their authority and in whose name and for whose
welfare and prosperity the powers of the government are to be exercised".

This is the cornerstone of the electoral system. All of us cannot meet daily
to establish and maintain health, educational and other institutions;
negotiate loans and other international agreements; make laws and policies.
This is why we elect a president and members of the National Assembly.

The president has a role to play. The members of the National Assembly have
different roles to play.

The president has the authority to establish health, education and other
Departments of State, appoint Secretaries of State to oversee them, prepare
budgets to maintain them, enter into negotiation with foreign governments
and institutions and present policies and bills to the National Assembly for
approval.

It goes without saying that in order to ensure accountability and
transparency in the operation of the executive a National Assembly is
created to scrutinize how the Departments of State and business of
government are being managed, approve budgets, receive Auditor General's
reports, approve international agreements, bills and other motions on
government policies.

This is precisely the reason why PDOIS maintains that a transparent,
accountable, responsive people centred government is inconceivable without
competent, just, honest, responsive and critically minded National Assembly
members who are bound by the dictates of conscience and the national
interest This is the verdict of truth and it is incontrovertible.


Our Vision

To safeguard in words and practice the role of National Assembly members as
trustees of the power and aspirations of the sovereign Gambian people, who
must, at all times, be determined to foster and safeguard liberty, justice,
dignity and people centre development in accordance with the dictates of
conscience and the people's interests.






Our Mission

Our mission is to ensure that we;


1. Closely monitor the performance of those assigned to exercise direction
and control over Departments of State to facilitate proper management of
government institutions.


2. Scuritinise bills, international agreements, Auditor General's report,
reports from public corperations, the Central Bank and councils to
facilitate that the decisions made serve the national interest.


3. Promote the establishment of National Assembly Committees and strengthen
existing ones so as to actively participate in shaping the national and
international policies of the country.


4. Upgrade the quality of debate in the National Assembly so as to
rejuvenate public interest in the institution.


5. Combat all clauses in bills that are likely to be inimical to what is
reasonable and justifiable in a society which cherishes freedom, justice and
democracy.


6. Combine representation at the National Assembly level to promote
awareness so as to bring the National Assembly closer to the people and
guarantee that schools, children and adults are exposed to adequate civic
education on National Assembly matters in theory and practice.


7. Integrate representation at the National Assembly level with community
work so as to transform each PDOIS National Assembly member into a community
development worker who is duty bound, to put experience, knowledge and
services at the disposal of the people in the constituency, to solve
individual and community problems as well as to protect and promote
individual and community welfare.


Programme

a. Maintain a constituency fund from remuneration for being National
Assembly member, to be managed by a constituency committee, to foster
individual and community welfare.


b. To establish an office in the constituency which will open in the morning
and afternoon to receive complaints, write petitions and address all
concerns of the people in the constituency.

c. Organise community meetings on a periodic basis to inform people and
receive views on all matters which affect their welfare.


d. Meet the press periodically to address all matters of public interest.


e. To cooperate with institutions and individuals rendering services to the
people in the constituency with the view to enhance their efforts.


f. To be accessible to the people in the constituency at all times knowing
fully that one is elected to be their ears, eyes and mouths in the National
Assembly.






Issued by The Central Committee

P.D.O.I.S. P.O. Box 2306

Serrekunda

Tel: 393177. Fax: 393177

E-mail: [log in to unmask]

Jabou Joh wrote:

> The Coalition wrote:
> >
> > Having consulted the Coalition membership at the grassroots and following
> > advice received from the bulk of our members, it has been concluded by them
> > that they cannot compete with non-Gambians for the election of
> > representatives to the National Assembly. The UDP will not participate in
> > the forthcoming National Assembly elections and subsequent elections be it
> > local government, presidential or otherwise until such a time that the
> > register of voters is revamped and the number of aliens expunged there
> > from.  The UDP led Coalition hopes that a new code of conduct for elections
> > based on the performance of a truly Independent Electoral Commission would
> > be worked out jointly by all stakeholders, and when real Gambians and not
> > aliens will be able to select leaders of their choice.
> >
>
> Bravo!
>
> It is about time that people, especially the opposition parties in The Gambia
> stopped giving legitimacy to the facade of a "normal electoral process" when
> what is unfolding in our country is far from it.
>  I also hope that the other opposition parties will stop doing what the
> wollof call
>
> "metel buki jamay jakkah neh eliman ba ngi"
>
> and boycott this charade of an electoral process that has been an ongoing
> clown act by the APRC and Gabriel Roberts.
>
> This phony act is also the reason I have decided that engaging Gassa and the
> rest of the Jammeh aplogists is an exercise in futility, simply because these
> guys know the truth and are just " mouth pieces" for this regime. Histoy will
> place them where they belong.
>
> > Jabou Joh
> >
> >
> >
>
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