Daily Observer
</publishers.html?passed_name=Daily%20Observer&passed_location=Banjul>  (Banjul)
October 4, 2000
Sait Ceesay
Banjul
The National Assembly majority leader, Tamsir Jallow, has described the
postponement of the local government elections by the Independent Electoral
Commission (IEC) as "a good move because the earlier announced date, (Nov 16),
was premature."
Speaking to me Tuesday, Mr. Jallow said he was not surprised by the postponement
of the local government election date "because when the date was announced by
the IEC, legislation was not yet passed to the National Assembly for debate and
ratification, which made it premature at that time."
Mr. Jallow said despite the fact that the IEC is an independent body, "it must
not be misunderstood to fix dates for elections without sufficient consultation
with the relevant authorities; the government which is providing part of the
resources and also responsible for the enactment of legislation."
Quoting from the 1997 constitution, Mr. Jallow said, "Section 43 ensures that
dates, times and places for public elections and referendum are determined in
accordance with law and they are published and elections held accordingly."
That, he said, "makes it more proper for the IEC to consult the government
before fixing a date as close as November 16 with the inavailability of
legislative laws."
Asked when the local government bill will be tabled for debate at the Assembly,
Mr. Jallow said, "I am not sure when it would come as we at the Assembly are not
to determine that. We were even expecting it during the September sittings but
it did not come and hence, what we can do is to urge government to expedite the
process."
On speculation that Lai Conteh's suspension was a litmus test on the support and
strength of the APRC party in the Kanifing municipality, Mr. Jallow charged,
"That is gross-misinformation and immature politics when the APRC party is too
mature to think that one individual in the ranks of the party can claim the
balance of power within the APRC and the party will never take such types of
experiments."
On the UDP leader's claim that "the way Lai Conteh was suspended and reinstated,
shows the weakness of the decision-making body in the APRC government," Mr.
Jallow retorted, "That is an unfair and unsound analysis to be taken by anybody
in the absence of knowing what culminated to the reversal of the decision.
Hence, it is grossly inaccurate to even think that the decision-making body of
the government is poor. What is needed in today's politics is high technological
thinking based on correct scientific analyses of situations that happen. The
politics of guessing and negative propaganda of the '60s doesn't have a place in
the 21st century and people need to be better informed through sincere and
honest politics."


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