KB: I surely do not have all the answers but I have already stated low voter turnout was a problem. I never said UDP's message was the sole reason for the losses. In fact, Joke might have said this and you confused me with him much to my chagrin.This is from my original post on 'elections and related issues': "They did not adhere to a strategy which was borne out of any type of detailed analysis. When one compares the amount of people who actually voted to those who actually voted (registered to vote), it becomes obvious the voter turnout was extremely low. " Voter turnout was low everywhere during the last (1997?) parliamentary elections but interestingly those from Kombo and Banjul were the most guilty parties. The numbers were as low as 63% in Banjul. In Serrekunda East alone, almost 14000 out of 40, 000 people did not vote. The same low voter turnout reared its ugly head during the recent by-elections. You think it was due to vote-buying and I think it was due to reasons which the UDP is in a position to best explain and deal with since they have the resources on the ground to do this. I do suspect apathy played a very strong part in the low turnout throughout the country. The UDP has not come up with any plausible reasons for low voter turnout. Not only this, but they allowed a repeat of the same scenario (low voter turn-out) during the by-elections. Hence my statement about dem not strategizing to prevent the same mistakes (low voter turn-out) from happening. Again, I think in that scenario, a voter registration campaign (many probably did not register), serious efforts to sensitize voters (reduce apathy) and a stronger message will always help. You see the 'solid guy vs loser' argument which Saul postulated is a sound one to some extent. But it is based on the premise that the good guy and stand-up citizen is expected to win, which is is certainly not always the case. What about the message from both candidates? What about the low voter turnout? What about the way the campaigns a managed and run? What about advertising tactics? etc etc You know better than me that the diference between 'good' and 'bad' usually gets lost in the murky and tangled dealings of modern day politics. But again, the 'thinking alike' mentality rears its ugly head again when you use this argument to justify your incessant allegations of vote buying when other possible plausible reasons are ignored. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------