PRESS STATEMENT

The United Democratic Party led Coalition (PPP GPP) has taken the major
decision of not participating in the forthcoming National assembly
elections schedule for the 17th January 2002. This decision came as a
result of very serious flaws detected in the registration process and the
system of replacements and transfers of registered voters.

The UDP led Coalition has on several occasions protested to the Chairman of
the IEC about these serious flaws in the registration process, who
indicated in a statement during a recent meeting that the IEC had with
political Parties, and the Press, in the presence of some members of the
Diplomatic Corps, that the numbers of registered voters was going to
increase in comparison to the number registered for the recently concluded
presidential elections. The UDP cannot understand how the number of
registered voters could increase over and above the number in the last
register used for the presidential elections when no official supplementary
registration of voters took place within the period after the last
elections.

The UDP led Coalition was forced into a situation of participating in the
presidential elections after the Chairman of the IEC resiled from the
decision of not allowing people whose names did not appear in the head
registers to vote by making reference to the “counterfoil”. The earlier
decision of not allowing such persons to vote was announced in the presence
of all political Parties, and foreign and local observers. By changing this
decision 15 hours before the opening of the polls the IEC virtually forced
the UDP led Coalition to participate in the elections where more than fifty
thousand non-Gambians, especially from Senegal, eventually voted for the
APRC.

The IEC equally rejected the participation of some seventy five thousand
Gambians who work and live abroad especially in the UK, USA, Scandinavia,
West Africa etc. Furthermore, like the Presidential elections when the head
registers were issued out only two days before polling day, the list for
the National Assembly elections has up to now not been made available to
the political parties.

The UDP led Coalition has become aware of the peculiar and special exercise
embarked upon by the IEC to allow massive transfers of voters from one
constituency to another barely two months after the Presidential elections.
It is obvious that from October to November a few people would have
genuinely changed residence and would find it more convenient to transfer
their votes to enable them to vote in their new constituencies, but for
voters to suddenly shift in their thousands from one constituency to
another can only be regarded as a dubious and sinister arrangement by the
IEC calculated to influence voting. We note particularly the huge transfers
that have taken place to Bakau, Jarra Central and Upper Saloum to name a
few. This practice does not show the sign for fair and equitable elections.

The IEC has not been able to be totally independent of the Executive in
several ways. The Judiciary proved very ineffective in the adjudication of
the objections at the Revising Courts and heavily penalised the UDP
objectors and their witnesses who testified to the registration of aliens.
Other witnesses particularly in Mansa Konko were intimidated and harassed
while some were imprisoned in Janjanbureh, their only crime being to expose
the massive registration of non-Gambians. A petition on this matter was
addressed to the Chief Justice and to date it has remained unanswered. A
case of double registration was also reported to the IEC and to our
knowledge no action was taken.

The UDP is of the opinion that for an electoral Commission to be
independent and free from the manipulations of the Executive, stake holders
in the election process should have a say in the establishment and
appointment of such bodies. The IEC members have become objects of
manipulation just as those public officers who must comply with the
dictates of the Executive or be dismissed.

Opposition parties, especially the UDP led Coalition has been totally
alienated in this country. Public servants who are suspected of having any
dealings with the Coalition are dismissed at will to the extent that civil
rights and other facilities are denied these people. The recent massive
dismissals of senior public servants were all politically motivated. Such
actions being masterminded by the Executive through Security agents do not
augur well for democracy and good governance. Furthermore, Members of the
UDP are not free to exercise their basic and fundamental rights as citizens
of this country.

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.

The UDP led Coalition also takes serious exception to the violation of
election rules exemplified by heavy financial inducements, corruption and
intimidation of local officials especially chiefs who are now appointed by
the President following the recent Constitutional amendments. The recent
wave of random Constitutional amendments passed recently by the APRC
dominated National has completely strangulated the opposition.

Finally we call on all members of the UDP/PPP/GPP Coalition to boycott the
National Assembly elections scheduled for the 17th January 2002.

LONG LIVE THE UDP/PPP/GPP COALITION
LONG LIVE THE GAMBIA

PARTY HEADQUARTERS
BANJUL
20th December 2001

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