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Editorial:Today is D Day for Presidential Nominations in Gambia-The Race for the State House kicks off!!
Today is D Day for Presidential Nominations in Gambia-The Race for the State House kicks off!!

The Verdict of the people should prevail-Let Give peace a chance please.

EDITORIAL

Today is the D day for the nomination of Presidential aspirants in the country's upcoming polls scheduled for September 22ND. Three Presidential flag bearers are engaged in the State House race. Yahya Jammeh of the APRC, Ousainou Darboe of the UDP/NRP Alliance and NADD'S Halifa Sallah. Both Jammeh and Darboe are not strangers as far as the Presidential race is concerned, unlike Halifa Sallah who is contesting for the first time. We hope and pray that Gambians will nurture the peace by ensuring that the nominations and the elections are conducted in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful manner. Our nation is once again placed under test. Our people should demonstrate high level of maturity in days to come especially the government of the day.

Pa Nderry M'Bai, Freedom Newspaper Managing Editor,cum publisher

The issue of violence and electoral malpractices should be set aside. Let the contending parties allow the verdict of the people to prevail in the coming elections. Politics should not divide us as a nation. We must nurture the true democratic culture if we are to make any headway as a nation. We are bound to agree and disagree on issues, but we should not lost track of the fact that the Gambia is ours. There is no point of creating enmity in a country like the Gambia, where people are interrelated. Individual party affiliations should not divide us. We must be able to oppose one another and embrace each other at the end of the day. This is what democracy is all about and not the type of politics President Jammeh had planted in our body politics. Politics of hate and discrimination. This is undemocratic and totally unacceptable.

At this time of our nation's fragile democracy, we expect President Jammeh to be a unifier and not a divider. He should treat all Gambians with equality irrespective of one's party affiliation. We are disturbed by Waa Juwara's lamentation on the ongoing attempts by the state to deny them access to the public media. Both public and the private media are an important component in any true democracy. If the ruling Party can access the public media, we see no reason why the opposition should be bared.

For this elections to be certified as free, fair and transparent, the government should allow its opponents to have access to the state media. Access to the public media is not a privilege, but a right. Our own national constitution catered for the said provisions. If President Jammeh wants to deviate from the said constitutional requirement at this hour, then he should refrain from organizing elections.

It makes no sense to fund elections with millions of dalasis only to be declared by the international community and election observers as not free and fair. We all know what comes next after such negative report cards. Donor agencies will resort to withholding future funding of projects unless a credible government is put in place. President Jammeh must play by the democratic game or call it quits. It's never too late for him to go back to the barracks if he feels that democracy is alien to him. He should depart from his arrogance attitude and respect the rights and liberties of Gambians. This to some extent will help to bring confidence into his discredited government. Under the current state of affairs, his administration cannot pass rights and democracy test. The current appalling rights abuses speaks for itself.

Jammeh and his APRC should be tolerant and respect the views of Gambians. President Jammeh is making the biggest mistake by perceiving his critics and opponents as his arch enemies. A vibrant media can help sharpens the future of a country. A serious government committed to the millennium goals will always try to encourage the media and not the type of media hostility Jammeh and his APRC are advocating for. President Jammeh is doing a big disservice to our country by sidelining the private media in his governance programs. The media has a big role to play in ensuring that funds released by his government in various departments including private donors are judiciously managed. Without a free media, there cannot be meaningful development. A country's development is mostly measured by the level of the media freedoms. No serious investor would like to invest in a country, where the media is muzzled and people's rights abused on a daily basis. The government should perceive the private media as a partner in development and not otherwise. We at the private media love our country more than President Jammeh. This is why we put our lives on the line to ensure that all evils hindering development is exposed. We educate, entertain and inform. We shall continue do the same even after the fall of Jammeh.

As the Presidential race is currently on, members of the security forces should desist from active politics. Always bear in mind that governments come and go but the state stays. President Jammeh is not paying you. Your salaries comes from tax payers monies and not from President Jammeh's account. For the general public and Presidential contenders to have confidence in the security forces, you must excise high degree of neutrality during the polling period and thereafter. You should refrain from undermining the trust and confidence the Gambian people reposed on you. Your role is to maintain law and order. Refuse to be used to intimidate and silence voices of dissent. The world is watching our army, the police and feared NIAS. We expect you to provide security to all Gambians irrespective of one's party affiliation.

On a final note, we wish the Gambian people peaceful elections. The freeness and fairness of this polls, would be determined by the factors leading to the elections and its outcome. The APRC under the leadership of President Jammeh, UDP/NRP'S Ousainou Darboe and NADD's Halifa Sallah should urge their supporters to keep the peace. Peace is not to be joked with. It should be maintained at all times. Always remember that the voice of the people is the voice of God. Let the verdict of the people prevail come September 22ND. God bless America and the Gambia. We rest our case.

Posted on Sunday, August 27, 2006 (Archive on Tuesday, August 29, 2006)
Posted by PNMBAI Contributed by PNMBAI

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