Yusupha, apart from you, no one in this debate is saying that vote-buying
was the main reason for the Kiang debacle. You are misquoting me again.
Don't try to score cheap points. Stick to the facts. Again, quote for me
where I said in this debate that vote-buying was the main cause of the
debacle. I need not reiterate my point of view which should have been
obvious to you by now.

I am glad that you admitted that you made misstatements about the election
date. The mistake is yours and not mine. Are you now telling me that there
was a bye-election in Kiang in 1997 where 800 registered voters did not
vote? Please educate me. I have not been following Gambian politics that
much in the past six years.

About analyzing the numbers, can I put it this way one last time? Before we
attribute low voter turn-out to voter-apathy, don't you think it is logical
to find out why voters might be apathetic? For instance, if we were to
assume that the low voter turn-out was due to the fact that some registered
voters died, don't you think it is logical to ascertain whether people
actually died; like we should ascertain whether people are actually
apathetic? See, you cannot just look at the figures and jump to conclusions.
We are not dealing with machines here. We are dealing with people that might
have various reasons for being absent on election day. Some might have died;
others apathetic; others disenfranchised through vote-buying etc. In order
to know which is which, we have to look beyond the figures and to the FACTS.

Finally, quit debating whenever you wish. No one is holding a gun to your
head forcing you to respond to my 'unsubstantiated facts'.
KB



>From: Yusupha C Jow <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: My opinion. - Kebba Dampha
>Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 15:36:49 EDT
>
>KB:
>Just a quick answer to your questions for  I am fast losing interest in a
>debate which has shown that the 'voter buyout' theory holds little water as
>a
>MAIN explanation for the election debacle thory in Kiang.  My comments are
>below yours:
>
><<Show me where you talked about 1997 bye-election figures? Was this a typo
>on
>your part? Tell me who is 'acting' about what he is reading and writing?>>
>
>A simple typo: It should have said 1997 instead of 1996 parlamentary
>elections.  Key word here is parliamentary (not presidential)  elections.
>
><<Don't speculate. Give us FACTS gathered by politicians and political
>pundits>>
>
>The facts are the record on Gambian voter trends.  Go look them up in any
>archive and you will see that election turnout has always been low in The
>Gambia whether they be parliamentary or presidential.  Why do you think
>Kiang
>would be different in 2001?  The similarity in numbers strengthens my
>theory.
>  Usually low election turnouts are due to voter apathy.  This is a known
>fact.  I am also Gambian you know.
>
><<The mere fact that there was lowvoter turn-out in the past does not prove
>that that will happen in future.??>>
>
>Keep deceiving yourself.  The numbers don't lie when they show that these
>patterns have been repeated with utmopst regularity over the past 30 years
>and more.
>
><<Granted that there has never been 95% turn-out in Gambian elections. It
>is
>also a fact that the issues that faced Gambians in Kiang of 2001 have never
>faced them before. You have to look into what energizes people to go out
>and
>vote. That is where the Opposition is at. The mere fact that there was low
>voter turn-out in the past does not prove that that will happen in
>future.>>
>
>What on Earth are you talking about?  The 95% was in reference to your
>'voter
>buyout' theory.  The suggestion is a good one though.  Perhaps a survey by
>the UDP would help achieve this task.
>
><<On the July 22 Movement, I hope you are not telling me that the threat
>they
>pose is not real. 'People do not fear them. The thugs can easily be ran out
>of town'. I remind you about what happened in Baddibu. If Gambians are
>lucky
>enough to escape from this thuggery with their lives, they are then faced
>with a corrupt judiciary that ensures APRC thuggery prevails. The Basse
>Ambush and the murder charges pending against Darboe and other UDP leaders
>is also another case in point. People on the ground that experience this
>lawlessness take it seriously. If you want, you can just brush it aside. We
>know better>>>
>
>I simply don't buy that this is a significant factor.
>
><<I don't know what arguments you are saying are based on 'unsubstantiated
>facts'. If it is the vote-buying, then I don't know what to say to you. If
>APRC stalwarts like Joke can detect the hanky-panky and admit it, I cannot
>see why you are having difficulties detecting it.>>
>
>Again you bring up Joke.  I can't help you with that one.  Rely on his
>facts
>at your own peril
>
>
>
><<<Who says the Opposition does not have a strategy to combat low turn-out
>due
>to voter-apathy? You can make the suggestion to the Opposition without
>saying that no one else is thinking about it. I am not a member of these
>parties, but I give people benefit of the doubt in certain instances. We
>are
>going to embark on a voter-registration drive in Gambia. Do you think the
>Opposition back home is not cognizant of that fact and will try to register
>as many voters as possible? Numerous people on G_L spoke to this topic. But
>they did not start by belittling our leaders for not thinking about the
>obvious and getting the whole picture wrong.>>>
>
>Where did I say that the UDP does not have a future strategy to combat
>these
>problems.  The only problem is they have not laid out this strategy to the
>people.  This is important in my opinion.  And where did I ever belittle an
>opposition leader?  What a load of crock!
>
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