Editorial:What If Halifa,Hamat,Sidia And Kemesseng lose the Elections?The Gambia is at cross-roads...
Editorial:What If Halifa,Hamat,Sidia And Kemesseng lose the Elections?The Gambia is at cross-roads...
                                                            EDITORIAL
This weeks' legislislative elections in the Gambia are going to be interesting. There are three areas, which should be of concern to us citizens. Upper Saloum, Serre-Kunda Central and Wulli West, Sidia Jatta's onetime stronghold. If the APRC sweeps the polls, as they did in the recent September Presidential elections in the said areas,then there is no doubt in our mind that the Gambia is heading to a one party state.Having a national National Assembly in the absence of these three big opposition guns means voting for a rubberstamp house. Halifa, Hamat and Sidia had contributed immensely in exposing the corrupt APRC government. To some extent, this had earned them respect and admiration among the Gambian population. The opposition should not blame anybody if they lost the said elections since they failed to come together.The APRC is being given free ride in Serre-Kunda Central,Upper Saloum and Wulli. The failure on the side of the opposition to reach a tactical alliance to capture these important areas would no doubt affect them in this polls. Together, we stand, divided we fall as a nation. Fighting a dictatorship requires unity and commitment from parties concerned. But this is lacking in today's Gambia.The opposition is opposing one another. It's decent in real politics, but it's not in their favour. For Jammeh to go, the opposition need to bury their individual differences and come under one platform.

Listening to their campaign messages one can safely conclude that the opposition are not certain of victory. They tend to shift blame against one another for their own political owes. Take for example, Waa Juwara having a beef with Hamat Bah a brother in the opposition. With all the atrocities taking place in the Gambia, there is disunity among the rank and file of the opposition. The type of situation they are trying to create might affect the country's innocent voters who are yearning for political change on a daily basis. Our political leaders who should be at the central point to pioneer change  are not yet ready for change. We can say with certainty that the current opposition we have  in the Gambia are not capable of dislodging Jammeh from power. This is the type of situation we found ourselves as a nation.

Lets hope and pray that the opposition regains its seats in the said constituencies. Gambians would leave to regret it, if we have a National Assembly without Hamat Bah, Halifa Sallah, Kemesseng Jammeh, Sedia Jatta to name a few. Already, the opposition created their own mess, but we as a responsible paper interested in our country's local politics thought it imperative to address the issues as they unfold. We should not pretend as if things are okay on the side of the opposition when they are not.We are surprised to learn that only few Gambians realized the road we as a nation are heading to. Our country is at cross-roads at this hour. It's not in Jammeh interest to have a country without an opposition. Serious donors or developmental partners as they called it, would not invest in countries where the opposition and the independent media are muzzled. Jammeh should take note of this. The promotion of political and media freedoms is very crucial in any  true democracy.  In the absence of the two nothing can work.

If Mr.Jammeh thinks that he is doing justice to himself by trying to hijack our electoral process to rig the elections then so be it. We shall continue to condemn any injustice or foul play perpetrated by this muderous regime. The current IEC is under Jammeh's pocket. We even questioned the rational behind the opposition's participation in such flawed polls.There is no way that the opposition can make it under such a fraudulent political climate. Guest and ghost voters have infested our electoral files. Jammeh is banking on such faked voters to cling to power. The average Gambian dislike every aspect of Yahya Jammeh. This's the reality.

As we approach the legislative elections, we call on Gambians to vote for productive candidates and not "Yes Sir or Yes Mam" politicians who are in the habit of neglecting the very people who voted them into the National Assembly. Representation at the National Assembly is beyond partisan politics. Our members should be able to think independently for themselves and decide what's good for the public interest. The type of house we have  in the Gambia is a joke. It's "Bantaba" where MPS met to promote Jammeh's repressive policies.

Hamat  Bah and Kemesseng Jammeh should be praised for trying to secure Jammeh's impeachment in the late 90'S. Thanks to these two folks Gambians were able to know the "Jammeh/Abacha crude oil scandal." They fought vigorously just to ensure that Jammeh was brought to book. But guess what? The APRC NAMS traded national interest with personal interest by blocking Kemesseng's call for Jammeh to be investigated and impeached if found wanting in his duties as President of the Gambia. The APRC NAMS are not patriotic at all. They betrayed their voters by serving a criminal President like Jammeh. What's wrong with investigating  one's President if important and disturbing issues of national concern  are raised by a credible opposition group?

Voting the APRC NAMS in the said elections mean voting for underdevelopment and lawlessness in the Gambia. It's time for Gambians to emancipate themselves from mental slavery. President Yahya Jammeh and his government had been taking Gambians for a ride for sometime now. Unless, we vote the right people, we are bound to suffer as a nation. Refuse to be induced by these corrupt roving APRC vote  buyers. Excise your franchise. Your vote is your voice. We rest our case!

 The editor can be reached at the following addresses:editor@freedomnewspaper.com or panderrymbai@gmail.com If you know that it's happening or is about to happen please contact us. It's easy. Just type your info on our contact us file and  then click send. The Freedom Newspaper is your leading and most authoritative  source of news. We have the required professionals to serve you round the clock. Get your morning breakfast news by reading Freedom. We have good stuffs  every morning. At Freedom, we mean business.



 


Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 (Archive on Monday, February 19, 2007)
Posted by PNMBAI  Contributed by PNMBAI
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