Veteran politician and current governor of the Lower River Region (LRR) has once again written-off the country’s opposition, saying that they have ‘killed themselves’ by failing to demonstrate sincerity and truthfulness to Gambians. 

Lamin Waa Juwara, a seasoned administrator in local governance was speaking from his Mansakonko residence Tuesday during an exclusive telephone interview with the Daily Observer.

Juwara’s comment is coming a few days after opposition parties  reportedly failed in their series of meetings to reach a consensus of fielding a single candidate to challenge the incumbent President Yahya Jammeh in the forthcoming November 24th Presidential Election. 

The LRR governor, who was an influential and outspoken opposition strongman before he switched allegiance to the ruling party in 2008, described attempts by the opposition to come together as a political gimmick meant to provide a reason for their ‘imminent’ failure at the November polls. 

He said: “Whether a united front or not, His Excellency President Jammeh is going to secure a landslide victory. The people are very sick and tired of the opposition trying to come together. Which serious minded opposition will want to come together just one month before election?” 
  
Juwara, known in political circles as ‘Mbarodi’ recalled that before the last general election, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by all the opposition political parties, but they failed in their attempt due to [disagreement] over issues of leadership.

“The [United Democratic Party] UDP’s Darboe was responsible because he appended his signature to the MOU and walked away unceremoniously before a leader could be selected in a primary,” he stated.

Asked his take on Darboe’s proposal to the opposition camp for a party-led alliance, apparently his UDP to lead the challenge, Juwara said: “I think it is nonsense to talk about a party led-alliance. Here they are talking about a credible candidate chosen by the people. 

It is not a party that is going to be a candidate, but an individual who should be selected by the people. But Darboe is always trying to run away from this fact. I think Darboe is a waste of time; he has failed three times and therefore should not be a candidate for any serious organisation.”

Further scolding the opposition, Juwara opined that the leader of the National Reconciliation Party (NRP), Hamat Bah has learned his lesson, and should now be aware of the fact that “Darboe thinks he can only lead but can never follow anybody”. He added that that was why the NRP leader parted company with Lawyer Ousainou Darboe.   

Opposition ‘disowned’
Governor Juwara, who has virtually served in all the regions of the country as administrative head stated categorically that Gambians have disowned opposition political parties in the country, because as he puts it, they have been treating the people with contempt. 

Emphasising that due to the opposition’s ‘lack of respect’ for the people, Juwara, a one-time independent candidate for Niamina Dankunku during the First Republic, stated that the overwhelmingly majority of those that used to support the opposition have now completely disowned them.

“Can you imagine a politician like Kemesseng Jammeh [UDP bigwig and former National Assembly member for Jarra West] cannot hold a meeting in his own native village of Seykunda because that village has declared its support for President Jammeh? This is the scenario across the whole country,” the veteran politician added.

IEC and electoral process
Juwara also seized the opportunity to describe as ‘good and satisfactory’ the operations of the country’s Independent Electoral Commission [IEC]. 
“They have conducted a very good voter registration exercise and the IEC’s voter education programme is very good. 

I have no doubt in mind that they will conduct a free, fair and transparent election,” he stated, while expressing confidence that there will be tolerance across the country.

‘Stop the arm-chair criticism’
The LRR governor, who founded the National Democratic Action Movement (NDAM) before joining the bandwagon of the ruling party, also lashed out at those he described as ‘detractors’ bent on portraying a different picture vis-à-vis the democratisation process of the country, saying those people must stop the ‘arm-chair criticism’.

“Let those people come home and make their contribution to the restoration of democracy. As far as Gambians are concerned, what we have is democratic dispensation. So let them stop the arm-chair criticism and make their positive contribution,” he remarked.

To this end, the governor hailed the Gambian people, President Jammeh in particular for what he called his exemplary leadership. While further commending all Gambian politicians and political activists for the achievements so far, Juwara called on all and sundry to be very firm and portray The Gambia in its true perspective.  

Low political tempo
Commenting on the low political temperature in the country, Juwara attributed it to majority of support to the incumbent leadership, while also noting that the status quo is also due to what he called the lack of serious opposition political parties in the country.

Play to gallery
Further emphasising that the opposition will not be taken seriously, the veteran politician stressed that they are trying to play to the gallery with their political gimmick by trying to placate those in the Diaspora with a view to getting some kind of funding.

Governor Lamin Waa Juwara concluded his interview by congratulating President Jammeh in advance for his victory, while underscoring that the forthcoming November 24th Presidential Election will be so free, fair and transparent that even those who fail at the end of the race will accept the results.