Mballow,
I'm glad you understand the spirit behind my constructive criticism of your
party. Please turn a deaf ear to that incorrigible hypocrite and crass
imbecile, "Kebba Jobe". He was only attempting to mischieviously create both
a psychological and political wedge between us. In this - as in most of his
ill-advised attempts to clutter this List with his filth - he shall fail
miserably.

However, i think in your response to my position, you agreed virtually to
most of my charges without so much as uttering it plainly. The gist of my
argument was that the UDP is inconsistent afflicted at times and most of the
vital bread and butter issues concerning the economy, security, social and
political issues that will grip a post Jammeh Gambia has not been clearly
articulated by your party. Here is something that you wrote that is a pointer
to the inconsistency charge - here presented in the form of the mixed
messages you sent out after the by-elections of Baddibu and Kiang.

<< The fraudulent conduct or the rigging of the Kiang
by-elections by means of voting buying.These matters
were under investigations by the party's legal team
and they recognized strong irregularities in the poll
and concluded that the results didn't reflect the
voters wishes. >>

Here one can see that your party leadership's declaring of the by-elections
free and fair albeit a few hitches was not only contradicted but reveals the
hubristic tendency of your party's communication of vital information. If
these by-elections were under scrutiny by your legal team, then all press
liaisions on the by-elections after you accepted the outcome, manifestly
failed to show this. All the accounts of the by-elections that i read online
haven't shown any sign that there was an internal probe going on that seeks
to investigate allegations of electoral malpractices. UDP should have
communicated this development forthwith soon as it became a reality and not
dithered in public by saying different things that clearly contradict the
actuality of things that chanced during the said by-elections. Perhaps the
choice of words should not have been inconsistencies but **incompetence**
i.e., incompetence in presenting their case appropriately and tactfully to
the Gambian peoples and the world outside. Yet, even the inconsistency charge
has not been effectively disarmed by you. Here is something you wrote which
is another pointer.

<< The party had questioned the neutrality of the
electoral commission,**whose members are Jammeh's hand
picked** and particularly Mr.Roberts who was the the
commission's chairman during the 1996 presidential and
1997 National Assembly elections in which the country
experienced a "transition without change." >>

If you have strong reservations about the integrity of Gabriel Roberts et al
to fairly and freely conduct elections, then how come you engage Roberts in
the said by-elections and in the process TACITLY legitimising the illagal
chairmanship of Roberts? It reeks of both inconsistency and hubris to
participate in by-elections that are administered by an outfit whose
membership you aptly described as "handpicked by Jammeh" and are virtually
his yes-men and turn still say you view those members as illegal occupants of
a public office and contesting their ligitimacy in court. My point remains
unrefuted: By contesting these by-elections, the UDP's legal and moral case
against the IEC has lost its backbone. Not only that, Roberts et al have
ironically and TACITLY been legitimised by your participation in the said
by-elections.

All the best,

Hamjatta - Kanteh
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
URL: http://hometown.aol.co.uk/hamzakanteh/myhomepage/newsletter.html

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

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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------