It is very unfortunate that the UDP has chosen today, the inaugration day of President-elect Jammeh, to announce that they and the PPP are going to boycot January's National Assembly elections on such frivolous grounds as they have announced. Was it not only last week that they, the UDP, announced that the party leadership having consulted their constituent members have decided that they will field in the same candidates that they fielded in the 1996/97 elections? What have they learnt between then and now to convince them that the government and the IEC plan to rig the national assembly elections? This is clearly a calculated move to embarass the government and overshadow this solemn occasion. Fortunately, it has failed abysmally as nobody is paying any attention to their grumblings. The democratisation program is moving on with full steam! The APRC has gone through its primary elections to choose those who will represent the party this coming elections and all Gambians have witnessed the democratic nature they went about it. No less than three ruling party NAMs have been challenged and defeated in the primaries and at least three lady aspirants have won their primary elections on level terms as other NAM aspirants. While it is their prerogative to boycot any elections, they need to do so based on the truth and on principles that people can refer to. They cannot, as late as three weeks ago, admit that they recognise the result of the 2001 presidential election and yet turn around, the day that all Gambians are rejoicing the swearing in of the president, to announce that they are boycotting the coming elections. Perhaps they don't want to loose their deposits as any candidate who does not poll 25% of votes cast will loose his/her D5,000.00 deposit. For the information of all, the swearing in ceremony has successfully taken place, witnessed by tens of thousands of Gambians and non-Gambians resident in the country and graced by no less than 15 heads of state and governments or their representatives. The presence of these leaders as well as the Director General of the FAO and other dignitaries has given us Gambians a lot to be proud of. This is biggest gathering of heads of state and governments to meet in The Gambia since the cills summit of 1977. Another blow to the UDP/coalition propaganda is the fact that one of the last hurdles that has been a cause of concern for some members of the international community, particularly the US and EU, has now been removed. President Jammeh has annouced an amnesty for ex-president Jawara and some others and has promised to gurantee his security should he decide to come home. This announcement was met with jubilation from many in the crowds and applauded by the visiting heads of state and the diplomatic community. What a blessing for Gambians! Have a good day, Gassa. _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> 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] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>