Sanusi, Thanks for this informative piece. Jabou Joh In a message dated 7/26/2001 9:13:47 AM Central Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: > > Sister Jabou > > You are right, however I need to make some further > points. > > (1) The Old man was banned 20 years by the AFPRC. One > point to note whereas the Commission recommended that > Jawara be banned for 5 years, the AFPRC in presenting > its White Paper increased the ban to 20 years. Even OJ > Jallow was also banned from public office but I think > this was just for 5 years which should definitely > expire by now. > > If the Likes of Dibba, Camara or Jawara intend to > resurrect their political parties and contest the > presidential elections, then there is a big hurdle to > face, which is the age limit for the Presidency. > According to Section 62(1)(b) of the Constitution, a > person shall not be qualified for election as > President if he or she has attained the minimum age > of thirty years but note more than sixty-five years; > > Based on information received from Gambian History > books; > > Assan Musa Camara was born in 1923- (Age- 78) > 7Sir Dawada Kairaba Jawara was born in 1924-(Age 77) > Sherrif Mustapha Dibba was born in 1937.(Age - 64) > > > From the information mentioned above, only Sherriff > Dibba has a slim chance of contesting the next > elections. Jawara and Assan Musa Camara may be > disqualified due to their age. > > (3) According to section 62(1)(d)of the constitution > states that a person shall be qualified for election > as president if he or she has been ordianrily resident > in the Gambia for at least 5 years preceeding the > election. This proviso appears to be a poison chalice > for DK Jawara since July 1994 was the last time he > resided in the Gambia. Having said, I will expect that > he defends his case by saying that 70 years of his > life have been spent in the Gambia. > > (4) Repealing Decree 89 does not give any of the > banned politicians the ammunition to resurrect their > political parties. In the eyes of the law, a mere > repeal of decree 89 does not guarantee PPP, NCP, GPP > the status of a political party. All these political > parties will have to register according to section 60 > of the constitution. > > I think for the reasons mentioned above, the repeal of > Decree 89 must be looked at properly before jumping > into conclusion. In my view, there is long way to go. > > Have a wonderful day > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------