Jammeh Rejects Spot-Counting of Ballots Berates West for "Sabotage" Email This Page Print This Page The Independent (Banjul) August 10, 2001 Posted to the web August 10, 2001 Alhagie Mbye Banjul, the Gambia President Jammeh has flatly objected to the idea of counting votes at polling stations immediately after the polls close on election day in October. He said it is just an idea outside the Gambian constitution, which shall never be entertained. President Jammeh made his position clear during an interview with Babucarr Dieng a Senegalese television journalist. The interview which was broadcast on Gambian television Monday evening showed the president as emphasising that counting on the spot is neither ordained by the constitution nor practicable in view of logistical inadequacy to make it possible. He said it was impossible to get at least fifteen police officers in 800 polling stations crowded with about 1, 500 people awaiting the counting to take place. He claimed that about 2,400 vehicles are also needed. He described the idea as an unproven experiment unprecedented in the country. "We are not guinea-pigs. Even if there is security for counting on the spot and we get the logistics, we are not going to accept it look the system is fair... the entire process is fair" he re-emphasised. President Jammeh believes that on the spot counting cannot be covered by the national television simultaneously, which could lead to problems of shortage of security personnel to man police stations when about 10,000 police officers are deployed at counting centers. "If counting on the spot is to take place during the elections, we will not even be in a position to pay for salaries for 20 years to come it is not our idea. There is no country that has ever done that. It happened only in Uganda where there are no political parties but only movements. "I say we are not going to do it just to satisfy other people's bad intention. Why it is that some European countries are not doing it. Even if there is enough finance we are not going to do it. It will not happen" he objected. On his relationship with the IMF and World Bank, Jammeh remarked, "I still maintain that they are not gods. They only give loans to be repaid with conditions. In fact such loans become useless to citizens and make them hungrier. Such things are unacceptable, even bilateral relationship with them must be based on respect" he posited. .President Jammeh maintained who maintained that "I am the same military man you saw" said that such institutions are not what they profess to be. He said during the end of 1999 when all their "subversive" activities against The Gambia failed, they expressed interest to use the country as a "progress example with their chicken change". He noted that as far as the West is concerned, they are sub divided with "good ones and confused one". He added that there are certain Western countries that still have colonies in Africa to discourage independent movements and reduce Africa to its knees while falsely preaching democracy and human rights. "They stole our properties to create the West so why should we accept their democracy and human rights, infact there is no democracy in the West and I can challenge any Western leader about it and embarrass him" he argued. He intimated that certain Western leaders "don't know themselves and as a result I will never have good relations with them". However he said there are also good Western countries who never colonized anyone and are even willing to help. "Remember these ones are not the bad crazy West," he added. President Jammeh also accused some African leaders of serving the interest of Western leaders to maintain themselves in power. He said some of these leaders are even opposed to the African Union. He said during the African Union summit, he challenged that category of African leaders to be bold enough to show their stance against the union "so that their own citizens will understand their designs". He claimed that even if there is conflict between African countries, such leaders would not pay head to the calls of their fellow Africans but are always prepared to be commanded by Western powers, whom they serve without question. "I insisted on calling journalists to cover remarks opposed to the AU but they refused and say that I was violating their rights. They said I think like a kid but my thinking was better because it means they were not representing the wishes of the people" he argued. On Senegal-Gambia relations President Jammeh noted that the two countries are like "the same compound with different houses and if the other fails to invite you in his house it may be a problem to get in". He said after assuming power, President Abdoulaye Wade, never gave him a mandate to negotiate in the Casamance conflict until the fighting escalated. He said there was also controversy when journalists claimed that MFDC soldiers are within his guards - a claim he vehemently denied. He stressed that he knows Casamance terrain better than even combatants and that he had made it clear to them that their quest for independence was impossible and that he cannot allow any demand for independence in the sub-region. He said he was pleased that seven years under his stewardship have seen some notable developments in the health, education and agricultural sectors and further alleged that during the time of the previous regime, only sons and daughters of the ousted president's party the PPP had access to university education abroad. He said under his leadership scholarship opportunities are for the most deserving. He disclosed that he is currently sponsoring 750 students some of whom have graduated. He claimed that previous there were also few Gambian doctors since many preferred to set up private clinics while dispensers calling themselves doctors injected patients without knowing how to administer medicines, causing some patients to get blind. He intimated that it was even worse during 400 years of British rule when there was no trained Gambian doctor. He claimed that The Gambia could now boast of 300 doctors excluding nurses. He said with a University and a medical school Gambians are being trained locally without incurring the burden inherent in sending them to the United States and other countries further compounding the brain drain. "They are still wicked to us, holding our people there after studies and offer them attractive pay and tell them there is no democracy back home" he charged. He alleged that there is sabotage in the electricity sector, resulting in crisis, which he alone cannot negotiate. He revealed that Nawec officials used to give him false stories regarding contracts, adding that in only seven years, the electricity and water company had signed agreements with 21 companies without installing a good engine against which backdrop he justified his sacking of officials. President Jammeh also said he regretted the attack on Kartong and the Farafenni military barracks in 1996 and the student demonstrations last year. He accused "certain elements" of using innocent children to overthrow his administration. President Jammeh also acknowledged that tribalism still exists in the minds of some Gambians although he claimed that his government has been purged of nepotism and tribalism. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top | Copyright | Privacy Policy | Advertising -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2001 The Independent. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments about our site? Write to [log in to unmask] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME Business Stock Markets Currencies Sport Soccer Athletics Olympics Health AIDS Editorials Arts Books Music Children Education Environment Media PanAfrica Religion Technology Travel U.S. Africa Women Special Reports Photo Essays AIDS, Sexuality and Gender in Africa: The Struggle Continues by Carolyn L. 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