Yusupha, Jassey-Conteh and Sanusi, thanks for your contributions. It is
indeed a no-brainer that the Opposition should present a united front in the
coming elections. Even if one single Opposition political party was
convinced that it can go head to head with APRC and win, it makes better
sense to have the endorsement of other Opposition parties. We can only have
one president at the end of the day. Why beat Yaya by 30% if you can beat
him by 60% with the help of other political parties? Remember, we have to do
everything to ensure that he does not steal the elections. I hope the
leaders on the ground ponder this issue thoroughly and assess their chances
of becoming the next president of the country. Like Jassey-Conteh said, at
the end of the day, let us give the man/woman that is most ‘electable’
against Yaya, the chance to be our next leader. I know this is easier said
than done. But with the right heart, our leaders should NOT have
difficulties doing what is right. I have always refrained from endorsing one
Opposition political party at the expense of others.

But I will shift from that posture now and categorically say that I will NOT
support a resuscitation of the old parties to run in this presidential
elections on their own or to lead the coalition. I must say that I am very
disturbed by revelations from Gassama about what OJ was alleged to have
said. Until I read the newspaper in question or hear the revelations from OJ
directly, I will reserve some of my comments about this latest development.
As far as I am concerned, I personally will NOT support a PPP presidential
candidate or a PPP domination of the Coalition.

As Yusupha said, it might be a controversial proposition, but the bottom
line is that we need these politicians. They have traveled the terrain and
they understand grass-root politics better than some of the politicians that
recently surfaced in the aftermath of the Dictatorship. But these unique
qualities of the Decree 89 politicians can be offered to the current
Opposition without asking for a leadership role in the Coalition. Again, we
can only have one president. Most militants in these old parties can only
hope to become parliamentarians if they want to continue to contest in
elections. Why not support a candidate that is going to implement changes
that will make future elections freer and fairer? After the presidential
elections, any party can contest the parliamentary elections on their own if
they so desire.

The reason I will NOT support a PPP candidature is simple. We do NOT have
time to defend the PPP record. I hasten to add that the PPP record is a very
defensible record in light of Yaya’s despicable record. But why waste time
defending something we do NOT have to defend? Let APRC defend the PPP record
since they are the ones with Buba Baldeh, Fatoumata Jahumpa and others and
they are the party that inherited the corrupt civil servants. Why NOT go
with a candidate that has a clean record APRC CANNOT attack? If Buba Baldeh
can go to APRC and do the job he is doing for them without demanding that
PPP dominate the APRC, OJ should be able to help the good forces without
demanding a quid pro quo. It is the patriotic duty of these politicians to
help us clean this mess. But even if we forget about honor and integrity,
political smarts demand that the old politicians take a backseat. We have
two months to the elections. During that time, we would rather talk about
Yaya’s horrendous record in the past seven years than revisit PPP’s or NCP’s
record in the past 30 years.

Few months ago, Jawara himself stood in that conference room in London and
urged the Opposition to unite. The same patriotism that visited him then
should resurface and urge him to call for the same unity and campaign
vigorously for ANOTHER Opposition candidate. As far as I am concerned,
tactically speaking, only PDOIS, UDP and NRP leaders deserve to lead this
Coalition. Privately, I was giving myself until the end of July to make a
decision about the possibility of a coalition. I still believe that it is
doable. I have confidence that the Decree 89 politicians and the current
Opposition will come up with a consensus candidate. I have confidence that
our leaders know that when push comes to shove, personal aspirations and
egos have to take backseat. We have a mad man unleashed in our midst. If we
allow Yaya to continue to lead us, next time he orders the massacre of
defenseless Gambian children, it will be our collective fault. Yaya will go
down soon, no matter what. These elections might be our only chance to get
rid of him somewhat peacefully.

I anxiously await definitive word from SM Dibba, Assan Musa Camara and OJ. I
also hope that the current leaders are aggressively working behind the
scenes to convince these politicians to support a united Opposition led by
either PDOIS, UDP or NRP (which ever has the most ‘electable’ candidate).
KB


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