Mr. Mballow, thanks again for the information. However, I have to tell you
that this is a very disturbing piece of news. My major problem is with
Section 28: "GROUNDS ON WHICH APPEAL FROM REVISING COURT BARRED: NO APPEAL
or notice of appeal SHALL BE received or ALLOWED against the decision of a
revising court on any question of fact or upon the admissibility or effect
of any evidence or admission  adduced or made in any case to establish any
matter of fact only." Emphasis mine.

Mballow, this Section severely restricts the ability of 'objectors' to
challenge the decisions of these revising courts (magistrates). Now, if the
magistrate makes a mistake in his fact-finding, there is nothing one can do
about that. If we have the name of a dead person on the rolls and we sought
to bring in a Death Certificate to prove that the person is dead and the
magistrate refuses to admit that piece of evidence, we cannot appeal against
that ruling. If some village elder stands up and says that Isatou Kujabi is
not  a Gambian and as a matter of fact, just moved into the village from
Casamance after Yaya came to power, and the magistrate decides to ignore
those facts, there is nothing we can do about that.

Granted, a lawyer of Ousainou Darboe's caliber can wriggle his way out of
these types of restrictions on litigants' rights of appeal. Darboe can
always couch an issue to make it a 'question of law (as opposed to a
'question of fact' which is taboo with these restrictive rules). For
example, in the above scenario Darboe can argue that the evidence from the
village elder is coming in to prove a point of law; i.e. legal residence.
Therefore, if mistakes are made by the magistrate regarding that point, the
decision will be 'appealable'. But this is a long-winded argument and grief
we do not need.

This is a bad law, especially in an environment where the illegal government
we have is going to collaborate with the IEC to register ineligible voters.
We have a government that has made an elaborate and a concerted effort to
rig the rolls. The shenanigans started when the Immigration Department would
go to people's houses to illegally grant them our national identification
documents. Here we are NOT just dealing with minor irregularities in the
voter registers that can be easily fixed by a lay magistrate without any
contentious arguments from the parties involved. Here we are dealing with a
racket. We are dealing with an illegal government that will do anything to
steal the elections. We are dealing with a whole government machinery. State
House, NIA, Immigration, Police Department, IEC, all bent on populating the
rolls with non-Gambians that are going to vote for APRC. Compound that with
the 'refugee problem' we have. Add to that the fact that our borders are
very porous and we all share the same physical characteristics in the
Sub-region. You take all that to consideration, you realize that you are
dealing here with a potentially very volatile situation. At the very least,
we are dealing with a 'challenge' process that is going to be highly
contentious. This is not about some cosmetic changes on the rolls. If we
look back to the chaos that characterized the registration process (APRC
stalwarts forcing IEC to shut down their operations at various registration
centers), we can tell that we are going to have heated arguments dealing
with who is eligible to be registered and who is not.

Now, is it prudent to leave this very important decision in the hands of a
magistrate? Not even a High Court Judge? I hope the Opposition look into
this matter some more. In my humble opinion, overturning the erroneous
decisions of these magistrates is going to be an uphill task. Maybe legal
luminaries like Ousainou Darboe, Ousman Sillah, Antou Gaye, Mariam Denton
and others can do it. But it would be wise to assess first and foremost what
kind of legal issues the appellate courts are going to accept. If we realize
that the higher courts are going to give carte blanche to the inexperienced
magistrates by interpreting every issue as a 'matter of fact', let us call
it quits. I would not be surprised at the end of the day if the Chief
Justice decides to fly below the radar screen by telling his judges not to
accept any appeals from the decisions of the magistrates. The judges can
always come up with dubious ways of interpreting the issues we are aggrieved
by. We are dealing here with judges that do not take controversial cases
affecting this government. Anything the judges can do to pass the buck, they
will do it. I can see all of them dismissing these appeals by saying that
they have no jurisdiction to hear the appeal because they are prohibited by
Section 28.

The more I see where this exercise is taking us, the more I become convinced
about the case to boycott the elections. It is the prerogative of the
Parties on the ground to assess the situation for themselves and call the
shots. However, I hope they are mindful of these repugnant laws and how the
government is going to railroad this registration exercise and the entire
elections process. The Opposition should agitate for ALL the decisions of
the revising courts to be 'appealable'. Alternatively, the Chief Justice
should be given the responsibility to hear these cases. Let us put the man
on the spot. Let his reputation and his life ride on these decisions.
Instead of having inexperienced magistrates hearing these cases, let the
Chief Justice hear them. I know that if the decision was mine, there is no
way I am going to partake in this 'challenge' process.

Mballow, thanks again for your contributions. I hope you and your Party
study the situation thoroughly. I am confident that given Darboe's legal
knowledge, he is in a lot better position to advise your Party on this
matter. But I also recognize that when your Party assesses this issue,
political considerations also come into play. I pray that you come to the
right decision at the end of the day. My motto is, never to enter into a
fight you cannot win.
KB

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