Jammeh’s victory was based on sectionalism Opposition member asserts Amie Sillah of the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) has stated that President Jammeh’s victory in the recent presidential election was based on sectionalism and tribalism. In a chat with The Independent Sillah said that many Gambians voted on sectional and tribal lines instead of policies and programmes brought about by the ruling party, adding that voting on sectional and tribal lines would do the nation no good. Asked to elaborate on the issue of sectionalism and tribalism in the country the female politician said that “going deep into Gambian history only Edward Francis Small tried to enlighten Gambians on nationalism, but by the time political parties had surfaced sectionalism was already growing rapidly in the country.” She asserted that as an incumbent president, Jammeh has the advantages of access to public fund and control over the instrument of peace and violence. “He can intimidate and threaten people, engage in corrupt practices and even issue important Gambian documents to non-Gambians”, she said. She called on Gambians to shun tribalism, especially the people of the Fonis who declared their area a ‘no-go-area’ to other political parties during the campaign period to the extent of violently confronting PDOIS. According to her, only three percent of the electorate who voted for PDOIS are true Gambians because they voted for the party’s programme, while the remaining 70 percent voted for sectionalism and tribalism. She also called on the president to stop arresting people and sacking civil servants, citing the case of Tombong Saidy, as an example whom, she said, worked tirelessly for the APRC but became an unfortunate victims of the regime.. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>