Perhaps the NADD flag bearer could learn a thing or two from this Richard Nixon quote: "I gave 'em a sword. And they stuck it in, and they twisted it with relish. And I guess if I had been in their position, I'd have done the same thing." Malanding Jaiteh [log in to unmask] wrote: >Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue >Issue No.87/2006, 9-10 October, 2006 > > > >NADD FLAG BEARER ON THE ELECTION > >Let me reiterate again that fundamental to the outcome of the election were >three factors, that is the power of ideas, the power of human and material >resources and the power of mass support. >Any objective analyst would agree with me that NADD had overwhelmingly edge >to both the APRC and UDP regarding content and delivery of convincing >messages. This is the first point. >Needless to say, the UDP and APRC had edge over NADD regarding material and >human resources. In comparison to the two, the APRC had overwhelmingly edge >in terms of material and human resources In short one could not see the >distinction between state and party. Governors of divisions, chiefs of districts >heads of villages, heads of institutions, prominent members of the business >community, the army, police, NIA were all associated with the President’s >campaign. Vehicles with numberless plates were distributed all over the country. >Incumbency was exploited by the APRC to its optimum degree in mobilizing >human and material resources of the state to its advantages. >Suffice it to say that, having an edge in ideas or material and human >resources is not sufficient to determine the outcome of elections unless such >advantages could be transformed into mass support. >The voters who could give mass support could be divided into three >categories. There were the legitimate voters who acquired their voters’ cards in the >proper manner and were ready to cast their votes without inducement or >intimidation. >Secondly, there may have been those underaged Gambians who had acquired >their cards illegally by any false information to the registering officers to get >registered. Thirdly, there may have been those non-Gambians who had >acquired their voters cards illegally by posing as Gambian citizens. >How many of those in these three categories of the voters cast or did not >cast their votes? Who did they vote for? Why did they vote or fail to vote? >These are questions that all analysts should be interested in. For our purpose, >the analysis must not be an academic exercise. It must not be a refuge for >the people to escape the consequences of their actions. >It is only by facing soberly the inadequacies in thinking, actions and >institutional process that the people will be enabled to make a fresh start in >thinking and thus be empowered to take charge of their destiny. >Outstripped by the APRC in terms of material and human resources NADD tried >to compensate its inadequacies by giving convincing arguments of the >demonstrated incapacities of the government and the type of leadership that is in >store if the people were to maintain it in office. >The deficits in liberty and prosperity that were prevalent in the country >were put into sharp focus. NADD would not have had much to criticise about the >electoral system except the abuse of incumbency and the need for the IEC to >become more vigilant to prevent the underaged and the non Gambians from >interfering with the electoral process if an unheard of fiasco did not have >dramatic effect in undermining the comparative advantages acquired by the NADD >Presidential candidate in the use of the media. NADD’s fundamental blunder was to >have faith in the impartiality of the director of GRTS. Our cassettes were >recorded and handed over to GRTS. There was no mechanism in place for joint >editing by the IEC, representatives of the candidate and a representative of >GRTS. In the future, we must insist on such a tripartite arrangement. >Our first experience was the continuous featuring of a cassette of our No >Kunda meeting for a period of three days. We received reports that the speeches >of the flag bearer which exposed the regime were always featured at the tail >end. >The weight of the fact and figures were frequently impeached on by giving >lengthy focus on other speakers who dwelled on the weakness of the other >opposition candidate. The attitude of the GRTS management went from censorship to >minimize the impact of the powers of our arguments to unbridled hostility and >defamation when they waited until a day before the end of the campaign period >to broadcast, on the TV a recording of Buba Sanyang in NIA custody >indicating that he impersonated an IEC official to fill some nomination forms. The >deception of the broadcast was without parallel. They broadcast a confession >without approaching me for opinion. The IEC was not also informed before my >nomination to at least discredit my nomination. The objective was therefore not >to challenge my nomination since I had 6000 people supporting my nomination. >The attempt was to mislead the voters. >The deceptive tricks of the GRTS management reached repugnant and malicious >proportion when they deliberately suppressed my last ten minutes broadcast >where I dealt with their broadcast which the Observer Newspaper chose to >publish under the heading “NADD’s Buba Sanyang spills the Beans” with my picture >on the front cover. GRTS refused to cover my press conference. The Observer >published it in an inside page. I called the IEC for them to intervene to >ensure that my message is transmitted as a matter of right. I quoted section 93 >subsection (1) of the Election Decree for their observation to no avail. >Section 93 subsection (1) states that “The Commission shall, during an election >campaign period, ensure that equal air time is given to each candidate and >national party on the public radio and television.” I emphasised that depriving me >of my last ten minutes before the end of the campaign period constituted a >gross violation of my right as a presidential candidate. The IEC appeared >totally helpless in protecting my integrity against a deliberate attempt to >defame me. To add insult to injury, the GRTS management made news out of the >television broadcast and transmitted it by radio so that it would reach the whole >country, on the day before elections which was supposed to be a resting >period. The news item gave the impression that as a presidential candidate I asked >a 7th grade child to fill my nomination form by impersonating an IEC >official. I called the IEC to intervene to stop the erroneous and malicious >broadcast but to no avail. The GRTS management did therefore make history in >displaying a conduct that did not remotely resemble impartiality in the presidential >election. They brought my whole campaign, whose content had been >irreconcilable to any falsehood, into disrepute, without availing me y opportunity to >clear any doubts. >The deficit in liberty which is criticized during my campaign became nakedly >evident because of the absence of any private radio station to disseminate >my opinion as a Presidential candidate after the state media deliberately >refused to broadcast my last message to the nation. It was evident to the GRTS >management that reputable journalistic practice requires the publication or >broadcasting of two sides of a story. They preferred to negate my own opinion so >as to make fiction to pass as facts. Where then was my freedom to be heard? >Where lies the fairness in suppressing my last broadcast? How can I commend >the IEC for presiding over a free and fair election when they were impotent in >directing the director of GRTS to broadcast my last statement as required by >law and stop their fabrications against my integrity on the day before an >election? >In fact, many people who had an axe to grind with NADD began to spread the >rumour that my nomination papers were fraudulently filled even though I had >about 6000 people supporting my nomination. >Before taking leave of the subject allow me to prove how ridiculous it is to >even hint that Halifa Sallah could ask anyone to impersonate an official to >enable him to acquire electoral advantage. First and foremost, I have never >canvassed a relative or a neighbour to vote for me so as not to violate their >free will to choose. I have written countless letters to the IEC to expose >corrupt registration practices so that we can have free and fair elections. >Although, I am a National Assembly member my earnings go mostly to render >services to others instead of wining and dining at state expense. I have tried >to make my wife to get the highest level of education so that she would be >completely independent in getting what she wants in life rather than depend on >loot from a state to live in prosperity. What temptation is there that Halifa >Sallah could be subjected to, to the point of motivating a young man who is >an extremely famous football player in his area, who is known to both young >and old, to go to an area where he is well known to impersonate an IEC >official, just to fill my nomination forms. This notion is absurd to say the least. >Notwithstanding, the broadcast is the chief event which had a devastating >impact on the electorate. I cannot say how many people were convinced by the >broadcast that NADD could not win and either decided to vote for another party >or abstained entirely from voting. I cannot tell how many youths in Kombo >East were intimidated. What is evident to me is that when I visited Buba Sanyang’ >s family many of his friends had been seen by people in the community or >their families and advised to stay clear of politics. >The television and radio broadcast on Buba did not reduce the climate of >uncertainty, if anything one should expect the situation to have been worsened. >The truth however is that before the people went to fill my nomination >forms, I was invited by Mrs. Amie Sillah who was in charge of the operation to >inspire them. As a civic educator I gave them an inspiring speech and asked each >of them to be given a cassette to play for the people to listen before being >asked to nominate me. >I therefore wish to call on all youths not to support me unless they are >ready to defend their principles at all times. Anybody who makes the mistake to >tarnish my image no matter under what pressure would be disowned and pressure >be put for ones prosecution. We will not allow again such simplistic >disinformation tactics to affect our progress. After lessons are drawn from Buba’s >experience any NADD militant who abandoned the message and proceeded to claim >to do a criminal act under NADD’s auspices could only be a common criminal >implanted to do something else other than to serve NADD. When Amie Sillah was >put into contact with Buba while he was in detention he had confessed that he >mentioned her name because of fear. >Suffice it to say that when Mrs. Sillah finished her discussion with the NIA >I was informed. I did not take the matter lightly. I decided to wage a >battle of integrity by requesting the IEC chairman to post all the names of the >people registered under Kombo East and request for scrutiny of the list. I >volunteered that if any person’s name is found to be featured under false >pretence I would be willing to subtract it from the 6000 or so names I had >submitted and would withdraw my candidature if the number fell short of the 5000 >persons required to be qualified to stand as a presidential candidate. The >chairman of the IEC indicated that this was unnecessary. I further made the >proposal that he should give me photocopies of the names from Kombo East so that I >would proceed to do my independent investigation and subtract any name found >to have been acquired through dubious means. The chairman of the IEC indicated >that it was not necessary. This was proposed few days after nomination. It >is therefore amazing that nothing was done until the end of the campaign >period to try to attack my integrity. >I therefore saw the move by the GRTS management as a deliberate tactic to >erode the confidence of the voters in me. Taking the margin of victory, I >cannot sincerely claim that this unprofessional conduct of the GRTS management >barred me from being elected. However, it stands to reason that I cannot have >respect for an electoral system which could not protect any integrity at the >most relevant period of an electoral process. >In this respect, I can only observe that when it came to the battle for mass >support NADD was disadvantaged at a time when people had little time to make >a decision on to what to do with their votes. >I cannot honestly say what the number of votes would have been if the GRTS >did not broadcast a farcical picture that NADD was in complicity with corrupt >electoral practices which was orchestrated by the Daily Observer newspaper. >History will therefore record the tragic-comical scene which should earn GRTS >an award in outdoing all broadcasting stations in the world in >misrepresenting a Presidential candidate. >Notwithstanding my inability to combat the scheme of the GRTS management at >the right time, the GRTS team that covered our meeting in the country have >enough evidence that NADD is in the heart and minds of the Gambian people >irrespective of the attempt to tarnish its image. >Let me now focus on the results and the lessons to be derived from them. We >are informed by the IEC that Gambia has 670, 336 registered voters. Out of >this 392, 685 voted in the 2006 presidential elections. This amounts to 58% of >the registered voters. I have 23, 473 votes or 6%, President Jammeh had 264, >404 votes or 67% and Ousainou Darboe has 104, 808 votes or 27%. >Interestingly enough in the 2001 presidential elections there were 504, 301 >registered voters. 457, 484 voters voted comprising 89.83% of the votes. >President Jammeh had 242,304 votes, Ousainou Darboe had 149, 448 votes. >Compared to 2001, there is an increase of 166,035 registered voters in 2006. >However the number of voters who voted in 2006 as compared to 2001 fell by >64, 799 votes. >It is also evident that the number of votes received by President Jammeh >increased by 22, 104 votes as compared to 2001 even though there is a rise in >number of voters by 166, 000 votes. In the same vein, Ousainou Darboe’s vote >decreased from 149, 448 in 2001 to 104,808 in 2006. This is a decline of 44,640 >votes. Needless to say, the UDP/NRP/GPDP alliance was based on the premise >that if the UDP served as the vanguard of the opposition parties it will >accumulate the votes of the NRP leader of 35, 671 in 2001 as well as the votes of >other parties to win the election. >However, instead of Ousainou Darboe adding 35, 671 votes to his 149,448 he >had in 2001 there is a decrease of 80,000 votes from the coalition votes. What >is responsible for this? What is responsible for a voter turn out of 392, >685 out of a 670, 336 registered voters. Are the figures realistic or does this >mean that all parties in the Gambia are rejected, that the Gambia is a >failed democracy? Should all parties resign and allow for a new breed of >representatives to emerge or is the country demanding new institutions and approaches >to politics that can earn the confidence and trust of the voters in the >system? Is the result a strategic victory or a tactical error for the opposition? >To be continued > > > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask]