The removal of the chairman of the Independent Electoral commission is sad for The Gambian people,and it is sad for democracy.The move has markes of a constitutional crises and clearly shows what kind of cockamamie democracy that exist in the country.It is messy and nasty for Jammeh to took no notice of the Gambia constitution which states on section [42]subsection [6]that the president may only remove a member or the commission from office- [a]for inability to perform the functions of his or her office whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or from any other cause; [b]if any circumstances arises which would have disqualified him or her from appointment to the commission;or [c]for misconduct, but before removing a member,the president shall appoint a tribunal of three judges of a superior court to enquire into the matter and report on the facts.A member of the commission shall be entitled to appear and be legally represented before the tribunal. Here in Johnson's case,non of the above happened therefore, it is unconstitutional,criminal and undemocratic for Jammeh to do it. Again and again UDP party will not be silent while the country has been hijacked by a maron.It is up to every Gambian be it on the rulling side or on the opposing side to move ahead and undertake our constitutional duties. The five supreme court judges headed by Justice Felix Lartex,has spoken.Now it is left to Jammeh to respect the higest law of the country or go with his millitary decrees.If he has respect for the constitution,he will accept in good fait the rulling of the supreme court and allow chairman Johnson to continue his good work and conduct the overdue local Government elections.Without doing that the forth coming Presidential elections and National elections will be meaningless and will lack credibility with a new chairman already intimidated. Saihou _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------