"A Good Man Would Prefer to Be Defeated Than to Defeat Injustice By Evil Means" The Independent (Banjul) OPINION September 10, 2001 Posted to the web September 10, 2001 D. a Jawo Banjul, the Gambia The recent confirmation on Citizen FM by the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Gabriel Roberts that the commission is indeed consulting with the Attorney General's Chambers for legal advice as to whether certain people are eligible to contest the forthcoming presidential elections was not only a surprise but a great disappointment to most people. As an institution that claims to be independent and free from control by the executive or any other governmental and non-governmental body, it really runs contrary to all the grains of natural justice and fair play for them to be seen openly seeking legal advice from the Attorney General's Chambers, which is part and parcel of the executive. Everyone had expected the IEC to have their own legal adviser who would give them independent and impartial legal advice on all issues rather than depend on the A.G. Chambers for anything. It would be quite interesting to see how the IEC could be able to justify to Gambians any decisions they may eventually take basing them on any advice they may receive from the A. G. Chambers, particularly when the Attorney General and Secretary of State for Justice Joseph Joof, who is the ultimate head of that department has categorically challenged the eligibility of certain opposition politicians to contest the elections, citing certain constitutional provisions to back his position. It is therefore inconceivable that any member of staff of the A. G. Chambers who wants to keep his/her job would give the IEC any advice that would contradict the position held by Joseph Joof, as that would tantamount to tendering his/her resignation. Therefore, if Mr. Joof insists that the Coalition presidential candidate Ousainou Darboe, for instance, is not eligible to be nominated as a presidential candidate, then I cannot see how anyone at the A. G. Chambers would give a contradictory advice to the IEC and keep his/her job. That is the reality. This kind of posture by the IEC is bound to give some credence to the prevalent rumours that there is a conspiracy to postpone the elections in order to give the regime more time to enable them implement some of their projects upcountry. I can therefore foresee a scenario when the IEC would take advice from the A. G. Chambers not to accept Mr. Darboe's nomination papers, which is very likely to be challenged by the Coalition and the matter would end up in court. There would eventually be an injunction to postpone the elections until the matter is resolved. The other possible scenario is that in order to avoid a possible dangerous reaction by supporters of the Coalition, the IEC would go ahead and accept Mr. Darboe's nomination, which would then be challenged by the APRC, resulting in a protracted legal battle, thus giving the regime still more time to implement their projects, with the hope of earning a few more votes. Apart from the possible constitutional crisis such scenarios may provoke, there are also the possible dangerous consequences of rejecting the nomination papers of anyone of the potential presidential candidates. It is therefore very important that the IEC reconsider their decision to seek legal advice from the A. G. Chambers, as it has the tendency to cause trouble during the run-up to the elections. Indeed Mr. Roberts and his team tend to overlook the fact that the independence of the IEC is being put to the litmus test, and by openly coming out to tell the people that they depend on the advice of the A. G. Chambers to take certain legal decisions that may affect some members of the opposition, it is not likely to augur well for the Commission's reputation. They however need to be reminded that the elections are very crucial to this country's very reputation and if they are not properly handled, some dire consequences of unpredictable repercussions may follow. Therefore, Mr. Roberts and his team should know that their every step is being closely monitored and they cannot afford to make any mistake because that could be very costly, which this country cannot afford. They should however understand that seeking legal advice from the A. G. Chambers sends a negative message to supporters of the opposition that the IEC is being manipulated by the APRC through the executive. The only way they can therefore manifest their independence and impartiality is for them to get their own legal adviser who would give them impartial legal advice rather than depend on the A. G. Chambers for anything. These elections are also the only opportunity that Mr. Roberts has to exonerate himself from the allegations leveled against him in 1996 that he helped President Jammeh to win the elections. This time round, all eyes are being focused on the IEC and on him in particular, and any little mistake would be too costly to contemplate. The insistence by Joseph Joof to bar some members of the opposition from contesting the elections on a legal matter is yet another indication that even though the regime succumbed to both local and international pressure to repeal Decree 89 which banned some first republic politicians from participating in politics, they are still bent on employing other means to bar those politicians who pose a threat to their re-election from contesting the elections. It is quite ridiculous for Mr. Joof to go on looking for provisions in the constitution that he could use to bar some people from contesting the elections. It certainly does not make any sense to the layperson for him to say that by being paid legal retainer fee by the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation that made Ousainou Darboe a public servant. It appears that this is all part of the political gimmicks being employed by the regime to get the elections postponed. _________________________________________________________________ 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------