Nyang,

Thank you very much for sharing Sidia's letter.  It is clear and to the
point.  Straight talking and principled.  This the type of leader i clamour
for.

Best regards,

Mboge

On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 6:57 PM, Modou Nyang <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>   SIDIA JATTA /OUSAINOU DARBOE MEETING
>
>
> The National Assembly Member for Wuli West, Hon, Sidia Jatta, issued the
> following statement relating to his meeting with Mr. Ousainou Darboe,
> Secretary General and Leader of the United Democratic Party.
>
>
> DECEMBER 5, 2010
>
>
> Having been waiting for Mr Ousainou Darboe to come back to me as promised
> after meeting his Executive Committee, I was invited to a meeting by the
> PDOIS Executive Committee to brief them on whether the UDP leader had spoken
> to me about any Alliance that they wanted PDOIS to join which aims to
> discuss the future of the country and the modalities of creating a united
> front without any conditionality. It has been brought to my notice that the
> GMC leader, Mr. Mai Fatty, has called on PDOIS to join an Alliance but has
> not sent any document to indicate that an Alliance exists which PDOIS should
> join. After my discussion with the PDOIS Central Committee, I have seen the
> need to make my discussion with the UDP leader public so that all
> speculations would come to an end. Gambians should bear in mind what has
> happened in Guinea Conakry and what is happening in Cote D’Ivoire at this
> very moment. Some leaders are not interested in historical legacies. They
> are only interested in having their way whether for the better or for the
> worse. Finally, it is the ordinary people who pay for the follies of their
> leaders. I do not want any body to link me to any dragging of feet regarding
> the creation of a united front by the opposition.
>
>
> My discussion with UDP leader was direct, frank, short and without any
> ambiguity.
>
> We discussed four main items, that is, his concept of what constitutes the
> international standard of forming opposition alliances; the NADD experience,
> Agenda 2011 and the need for opposition collaboration to monitor the
> registration of voters.
>
>
> Mr. Darboe told me that the international standard of establishing
> opposition Alliances is for the party with the majority to lead and the
> others to follow.
>
>
> I observed that it is unfortunate that in the Gambian context there is no
> second round of voting which would have made it possible for the people to
> select the two candidates who could participate in the final round. I added
> that if he wants, he as UDP leader to be supported as a candidate, on the
> basis of the principle he mentioned, he should go ahead and start a campaign
> to sell his candidature to the Gambian voters.
>
>
> I emphasised that on my part, I am not sure which political leader in the
> opposition could take voters away from the ruling party and motivate those
> who abstained in 2006 to cast their vote. Hence I subscribe to the idea of
> holding a primary for the people to select the candidate of their choice in
> line with Agenda 2011. I told him that this is why I endorse Agenda 2011.
>
>
> We then discussed the NADD experience. I made it very clear that even
> though other options were put on the table, all parties agreed to create
> NADD. I showed its successes and possibilities as a viable opposition
> Alliance. He maintained that NADD was destroyed by others.
>
>
> He expressed his view that Agenda 2011 is very good on paper but that he
> fears that it is not workable. He said that if different opposition leaders
> go on a political platform to campaign to be the Candidate of the
> opposition, they may engage in character assassination just to win votes. I
> told him that his fear should be laid to rest since Agenda 2011 is calling
> for each party or Independent personality to promote the Agenda on one’s own
> platform and seek a mandate of the people across the board. I emphasised
> that the mere fact that all voters who support the Agenda would be called
> upon to vote for the single candidate makes it essential for no candidate to
> be subjected to character assassination, since he or she may very well
> become the people’s choice of candidate. At that point he said that he was
> reassured.
>
>
> Finally, he questioned whether it was not possible for the opposition to
> collaborate to monitor the registration of voters. I told him that this was
> a necessity and every effort should be done to do so.
>
>
> He assured me that he would hold an extraordinary meeting with his
> committee and come back to me. Since then I have been waiting to know what
> their stand is on Agenda 2011 or selling his candidature to the Gambian
> voters. These are the ways forward that are before the UDP leader and they
> need to take a stand and move on instead of giving the impression that Sidia
> is dragging his feet on the issue of a united front.
>
>
> I have made it abundantly clear to the PDOIS Central Committee that there
> is no political vacuum for the creation of a United Front in the Gambia. The
> UDP leader has the option to start his campaign for the people to accept his
> candidature and extend invitation to others who are yet to be confident that
> he alone could put an end to voter apathy
>
> Agenda 2011 calls for each party to go on its own platform and campaign for
> its own candidate to be the single candidate of the opposition through a
> primary,
>
> NADD is still legally registered and all political parties could embrace it
> and then come together to select a single candidate. As far as I know PDOIS
> still subscribes to the NADD idea but PPP under OJ has also not pulled out
> of NADD.
>
>
> Those who want to support the opposition should take their sides and
> promote dialogue while not undermining each other’s positions. This is the
> way forward. I am willing to meet any representative from the GMC or any
> other party that aims to discuss Gambia’s future. Issuing comments in cyber
> space without knowing the concrete realities on the ground is not enough.
>
>
> The End
>
>
> SIDIA JATTA
>
> NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBER FOR WULI WEST
>
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