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! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------