Mr. Dampha,

Your proactive stance in this issue is commendable. It is my belief that
if Gabriel Roberts is not challenged, he will keep changing the goal post on
this election. He is not conceding an inch to the opposition and I don't
hear any noise being made. To the opposition the least they can do is unite
on this sole issue because this man will manipulate ALL opposing parties not
just one.

I have a list of suggestions for the opposition on to ways clamp down the
system to prevent Yahya from cheating.

1. Demand that international observers accompany all vehicles carrying
ballot boxes. This election is funded in part by the EU(i could be wrong on
this) or some of our development partners. I remember Kofi Annan on his
visit to Gambia said the UN is willing to provided independent observers if
requested. Take the UN on this offer.

2. Assign dozens of party militants with camcorders to escort IEC transport
vehicles to counting centers. In the event July 22 tugs ambush this
possession, they will be repelled and captured on tape for the whole world
to see.

3. Inspect the tamper mechanism of the ballot boxes before and after tranfer
to the counting places.

It is also my belief that the opposition parties are largely
ignoring/discounting ideas generated On Gambian-L. Is it because we cannot
vote or what. If adequate measures are not taken by the opposition to
prevent Yahya from stealing this election, then Yankuba, Tombong, and Buba
Baldeh have every reason to be confident that Yahya will win by 60% or more.
Why go to court to contest an election when you can prevent the illegal
activities beforehand?

This is my take on this issue, Issue-based comments are solicited.

Inexperienced political observer,

MJohnson


>From: Dampha Kebba <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Election procedures: Question
>Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 12:18:00 -0400
>
>Great points, Malamin. These are the types of questions that should
>preoccupy the minds of our leaders as they tackle the shenanigans Gabriel
>Roberts is up to. Clearly, the Opposition CANNOT trust Gabriel Roberts and
>his cohorts. I am also NOT very familiar with how the IEC operates. But
>from
>what I could gather from people like Lamin PF Manneh (that worked at the
>PIEC), Party militants would be present at the polling stations. Party
>militants can also be present in vehicles when ballots are transferred from
>polling stations to counting centers. But what will an unarmed UDP militant
>(for example) do if Baabaa Jobe and his thugs ambush them and want to steal
>the ballot boxes? The Opposition MUST insist that there be on-the-spot
>counting. That is the least risky proposition, contrary to what Gabriel
>Roberts is saying. APRC thugs will NOT dare ambush a whole polling station.
>They know they will be outnumbered at the polling stations. What the vermin
>want to do, is go lay ambush in the bush and intercept vehicles carrying at
>best one Opposition militant; and at worst don’t be surprised if Roberts
>says that only IEC officials and ‘police officials’ should be in the
>vehicles. They want to corner the Opposition in an area where the
>Opposition
>can be outnumbered and steal the ballots.
>
>There is absolutely no merit in Gabriel Roberts’ argument that there will
>be
>violence if votes are counted at polling centers. We all know that it is
>APRC thugs that create the violence. They went on the rampage in Baddibu
>after they lost the by-election. We also know that they are cowards that
>only attack in droves when they outnumber people. I can assure you that
>when
>the votes are counted at polling stations and the vermin see that they are
>outnumbered and they lost, none of them will dare sneeze. They will all run
>and take cover. As we speak, even Yaya is ready to bolt. The vermin is
>RICH.
>None of these people have conviction in what they are doing. When push
>comes
>to shove, Yaya is going to run away. The days that the criminal could
>intimidate people are over. They know that when Gambians are alone in those
>ballot boxes, they are going to overwhelmingly vote for the Opposition. No
>question about that. Now, all the vermin are banking on is for Roberts to
>help them steal the election. They will all fail.
>
>Roberts should be taken to task. He is NOT a fair arbiter. He has a dog in
>this fight. Just witness what happened during the nomination process. The
>Opposition together took to the IEC more than double the votes Yaya took
>there. UDP alone took there more than 8000 votes compared to Yaya’s 7000
>(which they had to struggle real hard to get). As soon as Roberts saw what
>was happening, the vermin was eager to be the spin-doctor of APRC. He
>unashamedly morphed into an APRC mouthpiece. Roberts was overly eager to
>point out that even though the Opposition took in more votes, that was not
>a
>sign of APRC’s unpopularity in the country. Who asked the mental midget to
>tell us who was popular or not in the country during this campaign season?
>Roberts will do anything to steal the elections. It is up to the Opposition
>to also do anything to ensure that Roberts fails. Reports coming from the
>Revising Courts are also NOT encouraging. Baabaa Jobe and his thugs are
>still intimidating magistrates to leave foreigners on the electoral lists.
>
>Thanks again for your contributions. You raised very good points. I hope we
>get coherent answers to your questions. As you said, ALL Opposition Parties
>need to come together (at the very least) to tackle these issues that
>negatively impacts the whole Opposition.
>KB
>
>
>
>>From: Malamin Johnson <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Election procedures: Question
>>Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 15:29:35 +0000
>>
>>Goodmorning Members of the L,
>>
>>I have questions regarding electoral procedures in The Gambia. I am one of
>>the uninformed when it comes to PIEC/IEC procedures so bear with me.
>>
>>
>>1.   Are partry officials allowed to accompany ballots to counting
>>     centers?
>>
>>2.   Are International observers allowed to accompany ballots to
>>     counting centers?
>>
>>3.   What are the procedures for counting ballots at the designated
>>     counting centers?
>>
>>4.   What opportunities exist for Yahya to tamper with the ballot boxes
>>     in transit to counting centers?
>>
>>I hope the opposition parties, even thought are not united, can sit down
>>and strategize ways to cover all potential holes that Yahya can use to
>>tamper with the boxes being tranported. It should be obvious to the
>>opposition parties that the ONLY way Yahya can poll 51% or more is by
>>tampering with boxes in transit or counting centers. Lets be proactive
>>about
>>it before it actually happens. They should also watch out for July 22nd
>>tugs
>>in training. I will appreciate any assistance to enlighten me on the
>>questions above.
>>
>>Regards,
>>MJohnson
>>
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