AN OPEN LETTER TO THE GAMBIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS:



Movement for Democracy and Development
P. O. Box 500
Bronx, NY 10453
[log in to unmask]


National Democratic Action Movement (NDAM)
National Reconciliation Party (NRP)
People Democratic Organization for Independence and
socialism (PDOIS)
People’s Progressive Party (PPP)
United Democratic Party (UDP)
National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD)


February 26, 2006


Dear Gambian Opposition leaders:


On behalf of the Movement for Democracy and
Development and on my behalf I am writing you this
letter out of genuine concern for our country and its
future. I am doing so, fearing that unless we,
especially those of you seeking the presidency, make a
firm decision concerning a single opposition
candidate, we might see another five years of Jammeh’s
misrule. I don’t believe you want that, and neither do
the majority of Gambians.


As we move toward the October 2006 elections, many
Gambians have been wondering about the key issues the
president contenders should be debating other than one
over-riding issue that must claim everyone’s
attention, and that is to defeat Jammeh and thus
prepare the country for genuine democracy. With
respect to development, no single Gambian has an
absolute solution to the various problems concerning
our nation. So there is no promise anyone of you can
make as far as development is concern that should be
more important at this time than the fact that Jammeh
must go, and that can come sooner if we are united
behind a single opposition candidate. With Jammeh out
of the way, we can make Gambia conducive for genuine
democracy.


Today most Gambians, and friends of The Gambia believe
that our best chance of freeing Gambia from Jammeh’s
rampant corruption and misrule is to unite behind a
single opposition candidate. I am sure that you all
agree with this approach, but the biggest problem
among you the leaders has been your collective
inability to choose that one person that you all can
support to defeat Jammeh in October 2006. You have
been meeting here and there with no solid progress to
show Gambians that you are ready to compromise on a
single opposition candidate for the seek of bring an
end to Jammeh’s dictatorship. We the members of the
Movement, that’s why we are so frustrated when we see
that you are still at loggerhead as to who should be
the one opposition candidate we all can support.


We still have an opportunity to do the right thing
that is to have one opposition presidential candidate
against Jammeh. I believe that having Jammeh as the
country’s president for another five years will mean a
devastating blow to our dream of a democratic Gambia.


I believe that many of you are qualified and could
lead The Gambia for the next five years if conditions
were different, but I also believe that you can only
be president one at a time. So to make sure that
Jammeh is defeated so as to prepare the country for
genuine democracy in which some of you can run freely,
it will be in every body’s interest to field one
candidate at this time. In this light, you all will
have to make a very difficult concession in the
interest of democracy for The Gambia.


I have no doubt when you come together with a single
presidential candidate, the Movement would find it
easy to contribute and raise funds as we did in the
past to support your activities toward the campaign.
If you fail to compromise to come up with a single
presidential contender, I am sorry but it would be
very difficult for the Movement to rally financial
support from members, ordinary Gambians and friends of
the Gambia to support more than one presidential
candidate while knowing that it would be cheaper and
easier to finance a single presidential candidate than
more than one candidate.


Finally, the Movement for Democracy and Development is
here to support the democratization process and
developmental efforts in The Gambia however would not
dictate Gambians at the grass roots level on to who
should lead them. 

Thank you all for your understanding.

Sincerely,
Chairperson

Saihou Mballow


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤