Karamba, thank you very much for speaking out against this outrage. I
herewith forward an article from the Daily Observer that talks about some of
the rules you alluded to in your piece. As one can clearly see, the
elections has already been rigged. Mbacke will be lucky to come out of this
alive. If he wins, we can declare that we experienced a miracle during our
life-time. This is simply ridiculous. At best, the candidates and their
supporters are being treated like children. No posters, banners, insults,
inflammatory language, political rallies etc. Candidates are forced to
engage in door to door canvassing. This is a mockery. Johnson should resign
forthwith if he has any honor left in him. He should be ashamed of himself
to have been manipulated by an impotent moron like Yaya. What happened to:
'I fear God and I shall do no wrong'? Or maybe Johnson does not think that
these rules have no place in a democratic society. This is a blatant affront
to our Constitutional (natural) rights to free speech and association.
Johnson et al would want to convince people that these rules are meant to
ensure public order. That is absurd. If the government wants to protect the
public during the elections campaigns, they should tell their thugs to stop
harassing people. The police should be deployed to keep the peace and ready
to take on the thugs from the July 22nd Movement. That is how you keep the
peace. You don't keep the peace by issuing gag orders against opponents of
APRC. July 22nd Movement people are currently operating at Sami,
intimidating people and campaigning for their candidate. Darboe and others
should challenge these ridiculous codes in court. We should not allow Yaya
and cronies like Johnson to set such despicable standards for us. If they
succeed in Sami, they will extend these rules to the Local government
elections (if and when they take place). The next you know, they would be
using the same ridiculous guidelines for the presidential and parliamentary
elections. Was it not just a few months ago that the IGP tried using the
same stupid rules about people desisting from using inflammatory language
during political rallies? If the opposition had not put their feet down and
force Sankung to retreat, we would now be operating under such draconian
rules. We respectfully urge the opposition to fight these rules as well.
Fighting these rules, includes getting rid of those corrupt officials at the
IEC. Their sole purpose, is to perpetuate the illegal and callous regime we
have back home.
KB

____________________________________________________________________

Observer

IEC issues code of campaign ethics

The Independent Electoral Commission has issued a code of election campaign
ethics for the chieftaincy election in Sami district scheduled for November
16. According to a statement issued by the IEC chairman yesterday, "the
election will be contested on a non-partisan platform.
This means that no political party will be allowed to sponsor, or to
campaign for any such election." IEC said it will provide campaign
materials, *2supervise all other public fora and provide transportation to
designated campaign locations for all candidates who do not have their own
means of transportation.
The IEC urged all candidates to keep high ethical and moral standards and
respect due to other candidates; desist from posting banners, posters,
placards, drawings, billboards, or similar materials; not insult or slander
another candidate, nor use any inflammatory language; not abuse public
property for political propaganda; limit their personal campaigns to verbal
face to face meetings within fenced households and not use public address
instruments;
not to carry lethal or dangerous weapons during their campaign, and not to
use fire crackers or any other such explosive materials during the campaign
period; and not to coerce or offer monetary or other kinds of inducements to
any person to vote for or against a particular candidate, or abstain from
voting.
The IEC chairman said the media have a national obligation to promote fair
play and to provide balanced coverage of all candidates. Nomination of
candidates for the elections will be held today in Sami. IEC's Mustapha
Carayol will be the returning officer.


>From: [log in to unmask]
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: The IEC and the Sami elections
>Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 20:04:34 EDT
>
>Being from Sami, I find the conduct of the IEC in the forthcoming
>Chieftaincy
>election in that district to be despicable and offensive. It seems like
>Bishop Johnson and his commission have taken their constitutionally defined
>role and transformed it and themselves into an intractable morass. They
>constantly vacillate between upholding the law as it pertains to their job
>and issuing statements essentially negating and undermining the very
>essence
>of their commission. First they announce upon requesting and getting a
>legal
>opinion from their attorney that scheduled local gov't elections could
>proceed even as the gov't and it's cronies in parliament deliberately
>refused
>to pass the enabling legislation. Shortly thereafter they announced they
>were
>going to the supreme court to issue a ruling on a matter they and everyone
>else except for Yahya Jammeh and his lackeys have rightfully concluded that
>they have the authority to proceed on. You would think they would spend
>their
>time and effort into  framing the modalities of elections that are two
>years
>overdue. Why should they need further validation when it is the gov't that
>is
>intentionally breaking the law? But no! They are quick to put on their
>"DALAS' to participate in this dancing charade of litigating what is
>already
>clearly stipulated in the books . Why can't decent people sitting on an
>independent commission not do what is right and proper by their people?
>Clearly they can't cuddle Yahya Jammeh with his penchant for tyranny and
>dictatorship on the one hand and pretend to uphold their oath of office on
>the other.
>         Returning to the case of the Sami district chief who I'd like to
>remind list members was removed by the courts for the simple reason that he
>was illegally occupying an elected position far beyond the 120 days
>allowed.
>There are 21 other chiefs including the Chairman of KMC and the Mayor of
>Banjul illegally occupying their positions. Yahya, fully cognisant of voter
>antagonism towards him and his sycophants simply puts them in place
>ostensibly in acting capacities and just ignores the law limiting their
>terms
>to 120 days. As a result the Gambian people are saddled with people they
>did
>not and will not choose. These rogue officials in turn use their ill
>deserved
>positions to do the gov't's bidding by being the conduit for terrorism in a
>wicked and cynical ploy to whip the people into submission. The courts
>ruling
>on the Sami case ordered the IEC to organise a ballot . That is when all
>hell
>has broken loose. The IEC has all but transformed a simple election to
>district chief into a cruel circus characterized by the imposition of silly
>and draconian restrictions that forbade literally all campaigning. They
>want
>the people of Sami to behave like automatons and the contestants
>especially
>Mr Mbakeh who in the interest of full disclosure I must say is a family
>member of mine from doing anything to solicit votes. Infact Mr Mbakeh and
>his
>supporters were abducted by APRC thugs , a development the commission pled
>ignorance about even as it occurred just when they were setting up shop in
>the district. They want to so effectively hamstring the contestants that
>the
>whole undertaking would become a sedate affair potentially suppressing
>turnout, a development that would favor the gov't. The people of Sami are
>used to vigorous campaigns and they deserve lo less this time. The wrong
>and
>condescending attitude the IEC has brought to Sami would only bring
>disrepute
>to the political process and it bodes ill for the far greater role they are
>expected to play. Their job is to establish fair  and effective modalities
>for the people to choose their representatives. They are not running a
>plantation.
>Karamba
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>You may also send subscription requests to
>[log in to unmask]
>if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your
>full name and e-mail address.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------

_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
http://profiles.msn.com.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------