In the run up to the 2006 election I visited some remarkable Gambians in the Nashville area. My hosts wanted to discuss how they as a family could help in the struggle for democracy in general and in particular the then approaching presidential elections. They had a simple but remarkably efficient proposition and it revolved around mobilizing  support in their native district of Wuli and ensuring that it translated into real votes on election day.They started by reaching out to other folks from their general area residents in the US and other parts of the world to put together an adhoc organizing committee in Wuli that would identify potential voters over whom these diasporans have influence.This enabled them to literally count all of their voters even before the first ballots were cast and thus shield them from the familiar shenanigans of vote buying or intimidation. It also enabled the UDP/NRP coalition, the party they supported to more effectively campaign in this particular area at a minimal cost in resources and time as the host committee with help from the good folks from Nashville took responsibility for nearly all the logistics involved. It should be noted that these were not political activists in the conventional sense it is understood in our Gambian context but rather your everyday citizens who understood that the democracy they aspired to required them to participate in a direct and measurable way by engaging the people they knew and have influence over. A similar strategy was employed in my own native Sami and several other districts where ordinary folks liaised with like-minded individuals to identify and direct voters to the opposition. With the proliferation of cell phones and the ease with which resources could reach every village in the country from anywhere in the world, direct participation  has become both practical and necessary. No single segment of Gambian society is as influential as the diasporan who is fully engaged with his extended family and his community and this earned status can be leveraged into effective political power. One doesn't have to step foot in the Gambia to canvass and deliver votes or even make public one's efforts.It is not even necessary for one to be part of a group or constituency committee .All it takes is an individual commitment to identify , lobby and ultimately secure a pool of voters from folks you already know.To ensure even greater success, it would be prudent for the effort to start early to include the voter registration period so as to net new entrants into the pool. Since the core of the efforts revolves around close relatives and associates, those diasporans who wish to engage anonymously could do so and still produce the desired effect of delivering the votes which at the end of the day is the only thing that counts.

If  only twenty thousand Gambians all over the world make an affirmative commitment to identify, lobby and secure at least ten registered  voters, that would translate into a minimum of two hundred thousand voters constituting the ultimate swing vote. Not only would it be sufficient to get rid of Yahya Jammeh, it would enhance participatory democracy by subjecting politicians to the ultimate scrutiny of a powerful constituency that can and will hold them accountable. Since they are by definition grassroots formations independently generated, politicians would have to earn and maintain their support by addressing issues important to them in every election cycle, and it would also in the process jettison the top down approach to party politics that has resulted in truncating the vibrancy of political parties in general. In short, the Gambian people would increasingly be in a position to shape and direct how they are governed using the all important tool of eternal vigilance which a wise man has called the very essence of a democracy. And it all starts with you, my fellow diasporans undertaking the simple but significant step of working to put together ten votes in the coming year from the folks you know and effectively creating your own social network and delivering them on election day. It is easy and you can do it without attracting any attention to either you or the prospective voters in your pool.You can even work on a strategy whereby if members of your pool have to feign loyalty to the APRC to either save their jobs or business interest they can do so while still remaining committed to voting for the opposition.The red line would have to be drawn when they are told to surrender their voting cards prior to elections. This should not be countenanced under any circumstances.

Over the years many diasporans have worked hard to offer an alternative to our people by working with the front-line politicians who are genuinely committed to a full, functional democratic dispensation. All who take on Yahya Jammeh and his unworthy regime are good honorable folks who have dedicated themselves to causes larger than their own individual pursuits.They are collectively good men and women whose imperfections are dwarfed by their dedication to and noble intentions for our country. They can't be everything to everybody and their overall strategy has to be viewed not in isolation or even in the prism of a mature democracy. What the front-line politicians do has to be seen in the context of the overall environment in which they operate and the very real nature of the electorate they must engage to bring change. To attempt to prescribe a course of action for a particular politician or party that may have great theoretical appeal but has little practical impact would not result in the kind of transformational changes we all seek.

Additionally, differences in approach among the various opposition parties ought to be viewed as natural outgrowths associated with the kind of plural democracy we all want. It does not portend visceral hatred nor should it be a vehicle to throw ad hominem  attacks on people or their record of public service. There is no Gambian except for those who have paid the ultimate price in the fight against the murderous regime of Yahya Jammeh who can claim to have done more than the front-line politicians such as Ousainou Darboe, Halifah Sallah, Hamat Bah, OJ and all those who toil with them in and outside the Gambia. Why then is it useful to direct vitriol at any of them for perceived slights or petty political squabbles? Wolahi these folks are better men than most of us are and lest we forget they are always trying to do their best. We can't always have them do the things we want them to do in the manner we desire or at the time we consider opportune. All of us have to engage all the politicians all the time and in the process shape their thinking because participatory democracy is not an abstract zero sum game where a politician and a prospective ally are needlessly paralyzed by cynicism. If you have questions about Ousainou Darboe in his capacity as a public servant, his record or his vision, by all means ask him. The same is true of the other ones and from my experience with all of them, they will engage anyone at anytime precisely because they recognize their roles as public figures. Perhaps the most disheartening tendency is the one that tries to trivialize or even negate the past efforts at getting rid of Yahya Jammeh for which other Gambians have lost life and limb just because it has failed to meet someone's contrived standard. No one likes to loose an election and no one sets about loosing an election either, but what gets lost on these vituperative cynics is the idea that in all these election, a good portion of the population under very adverse condition have sided with those who seek justice and opportunity for the Gambian people and by god that does count!

So I appeal to all of you, my friends, to appreciate and work with the opposition politicians we have. They are good  people who have only the nation's interest at heart. Question them, listen to them, criticize them without necessarily casting aspersions on them or questioning their motives without verifiable proof of misconduct. Choose from among them but don't be tempted to assume the best of your choice and the worst of the others because they are more alike than you think. But more importantly, I ask you to consider doing something very different this election cycle. Please look for ten votes; find it, secure it and deliver it to the opposition. Just like our vibrant online media which has effectively become a loaded gun on the temple of the tyrant precisely because he can't exercise the one thing a dictator loves, i.e control, you too can solidly control the voters you have influence over and the tyrant won't be able to do a thing to derail your effort. I know it works because I have seen and done it.Ten voters is all you need to sway the elections and if you recruit your friends you will see how quickly the numbers add up. My preliminary research indicates we can generate about ten thousand prospective participants from nine states in the US alone. I hope you will find value in this exercise.