The earnest emptiness of Gambian "democracy" under Jammeh is the stuff of legend. Indeed, it is a "democracy" wherein we had as a constitution a toilet paper document which claims popular sovereignty only for that noble credo to be manifestly belied and repudiated by the fact that the sole repository of sovereignty in the Gambia resides in the realm of the presidency and all the illicit activities that debased office has come to represent in the Gambia under Jammeh's watch. If there is a sufficing epithet to describe the Gambian polity under Jammeh, it definitely will have to be what i call a sovereign dictatorship: an asymmetric flow of power in a polity wherein decision makings are all but democratic and consensual in name only and the totalitarian pulses of the dictatorship beat in unison with a tendency to both patronise and terrorise the sovereign peoples of the polity as means to keep them in check. A post- Jammeh Gambia will have to address this democratic deficit and institutional anomalies. In this post, i will like to modestly highlight some key areas where genuine Gambian democrats would have to launch a program that aims at a radical modification and rethink of the Gambian body politic. Also, i would like to propose a metaphysics that would in essence be the prime mover and sustainer of democracy in a post- Jammeh Gambia. The belief and enactment of this metaphysics, as i shall show later, is a common and rallying ground for the progressive forces united in the sincere belief that Jammeh is wrong for the Gambian peoples and ought to be replaced. By the metaphysics of democracy, we refer to it to mean the primordial, ethical and essential principles undergirding democracy. Herein, and to my mind, the metaphysics of democracy in a post- Jammeh Gambia is a sacrosanct undertaking to replace the sovereign dictatorship of Jammeh with popular sovereignty in which consent is paramount in collective decision makings. Hereunder, discretionary powers and their concomitant twinning with the asymmetrical flow of power in the polity would be replaced with general, consensual and contestible rules; the Rule Of Law; a liberal leaning, robust and independent judiciary; a dispersion and decentralisation of political power from the political centre to localities as a measure designed primarily to ensure that the flow of political power is symmetrical. In essence, the metaphysics of democracy in a post- Jammeh Gambia would be a political and civic liberalism wherein civil and basic liberties are not only catered for, but are guaranteed and entrenched; and political decision makings reflect the extent to which local communities are expressly empowered to independently manage their affairs and consent rather than arbitrariness is the leitmotif of political narrative. The ultimate aim is more and more individual freedoms and liberties. Fundamental to this metaphysics would be making obsolete the current toilet paper constitution and replacing it with an intrinsically liberal leaning constitution which is popularly and openly negotiated and consented to by the sovereign peoples of the Gambia. It would be a constitution that generally reflects the basic metaphysical principles i have outlined above. As a measure that it is in tandem with current political realities i.e., the democratic deficit and political imbalances created by Jammeh, the attempts to radically rejuvenate the Gambian body politic would be a process in bi-partisanship and civic activism as the stakeholders of the Gambian polity enter into a contractual negotiation of their terms of co-existence. This is one of the fundamental reasons why a United Opposition working together with civic groups to address the democratic deficit is indispensable in making the Gambia wholesome again after Jammeh. In lieu of the aforesaid, i have highlighted several areas which can form the basis of a bi-partisan and civic platform and or programme to selflessly cooperate and correct the wrongs of the Jammeh years: 1. After Jammeh and all he stood for has been emptied into the dustbin of history, the Political and Civic Alliance can form an all party and civic grouping to work on the modalities and terms of reference of a major constitutional exercise with the ultimate aim of correcting all the deficits and imbalances of the 1997 constitution. After a consensual agreement on the modalities and terms of reference of the constitutional exercise has been fleshed out, then an independent commission can be mandated to carry out the actual constitutional consultations with all stakeholders of the Gambian polity. To avoid expedient and erroneous measures that can ultimately create problems of their own, i propose the commission be given year long mandate to consult all stakeholders interested in the Gambia's democratic future. 2. To correct the political, social and economic crimes of the AFPRC/APRC regime, a Truth and Restitution Commission can be mandated to look into ALL crimes committed in the name of or in furthering the illegitimacy of the said regimes. The terms of reference and modalities of this commission can be fleshed out by the political alliance of political parties and civic groups. To avoid the frustrating and sour experiences associated with similar commissions in, say, South Africa, the proposed commission ought to avoid being a mere talking shop and toothless. The commission can be mandated to recommend prosecution of individuals who have been found to have acted with impunity and where economic crimes have been discovered, demand a restitution forthwith. 3. Electoral and institutional reforms is also an area where bi-partisan and civic cooperation can be extended. Herein reform is not mutually exculsive from the constitutional reforms and can be expected to complement each other, especially institutions like the Independent Electoral Commssion and the constitutional framework that undergirds it. Key to institutional reforms would have to be the civil service, parastatals and any other public body that still enjoy a modicum of public ownership and or entity. 4. As a sign of changed times and the primacy of liberties, freedoms and Human Rights, i propose a radical rejuvenation and over-haul of civil liberty regimes by promulgating an all-power and activist minded body i will call Cvil Liberties and Freedoms Commission. As a matter of how serious we are about arbitrary infringements of civil liberties, this commission will gobble up all the responsibilities associated with the toothless and spineless Ombudsman office and more. Again, the institution of this commission is not mutually exclusive from the aforementioned constitutional exercise and, therefore, cannot be decoupled from constitutional reforms. This list is by no means exhaustive. I am sure the current cadre of Opposition leadership by virtue of their proximity to the problems on the ground and the vast assemblage of talent we have within it, will come up with more issues and an exhaustive agenda to tackle in order to make the Gambia wholesome again after Jammeh has been emptied into the dustbin of history. I have to concede though that the program i have in mind and modestly touted here is inoperable without the active participation of all stakeholders of the Gambian polity. Suffice to say that the active participation of a United Opposition and civic groups is indispensable in the scheme of implementing the said program. All the more reason for the Gambian Opposition to get its act together and contest the October elections on a common platform for a better Gambia for all Gambians. There resides the primary thrust of the metaphysics of democracy in a post- Jammeh Gambia. Hamjatta Kanteh ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------