Electoral Dilemma! The Independent (Banjul) EDITORIAL August 17, 2001 Posted to the web August 17, 2001 Banjul, the Gambia This is not the best time for the Gambian opposition. It is its own worst enemy as the threat of a rift in the proposed coalition becomes more real than imagined. This setback is no doubt sweet music in the ears of the ruling APRC who are naturally the only political organization to benefit from the oppositions' misfortune. Sheriff Dibba and his NCP are deciding to go it alone in the poll battle with the APRC. In the wake of Decree 89 President Jammeh and his colleagues had always hoped for a situation that would make it impossible for all the opposition parties to come together in a single bloc to challenge the APRC. The reported decision by Sheriff Mustapha Dibbba, the erstwhile leader of the National Convention Party not to endorse Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party as the presidential candidate for the proposed coalition has no doubt dealt a heavy blow to any hopes of a united opposition for the presidential elections in October. It is therefore not surprising that since the rift became public knowledge the rumour mill has been churning out suggestions as to the cause of the rift. While some people simply attributed it to some historical personality differences between Mr. Dibba and some members of the opposition, others seem to see the hidden manipulative hand of the APRC in trying to drive a wedge within the opposition camp. There are even unsubstantiated rumours that a lot of money may have exchanged hands in order to make the rift a reality. Who stands to benefit from any rift within the opposition camp? The obvious answer is of course President Jammeh and the APRC. If the opposition, for any reason should allow individual greed for power to stand in their way of coming together as a single bloc, when their most important common objective is to get rid of the APRC regime, then the opposition should reckon defeat before polling day. They should not lose sight of the fact that they are dealing with very powerful opponents who have a strong financial base, and with an entire state machinery, including the security apparatus at their disposal. They would not hesitate to use any of that to trample upon anything that comes between them and retaining power. Therefore, it would be foolhardy for the opposition to do anything that would make them vulnerable to manipulation and usher in eventual weakness. As the opposition goes to the polls with this as a major setback, the race for the presidency could just be tilting in the APRC's favour. In such a situation of uncertainty, betting on the opposition could be misinformed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------