By Capt. Ebou Jallo    11 December, 2021

Aristotle once wrote that “man is by nature a political animal” and hence the German philosopher Hannah Arendt would later add that the identity/meaning-constructing realm of the public sphere fulfills a deep human need.  Indeed, President Barrow was not prattling when he called himself a political animal. Elections happen within a moral matrix of a society where emotions and sentiments carry more weight in our judgments than reason.  This is one law in campaign politics that some “educated” Gambians can never understand because the idea is so simple and yet elusive to the inattentive and the egotistical.

I have read some post-elections diagnostics of what happened on 4 December but none really understands the depth of the issue which can be reduced to these four propositions:

(a)   Political judgments are intuitional and not logical.  They can either bind or divide a society.

(b)  Passions or emotions always subordinate reason or rationality.

(c)   If you want to persuade others to vote for your party, then you must appeal to their deep-rooted sentiments.

(d)  Politics is all about learning from people who disagree with you; and not listening to your own echo chambers.

Let us put this “theory” to a test with a simple thought experiment:  If you ask any UDP party militant two questions: “Is it wrong to have sex with a white horse?” and “is it wrong to vote for Barrow?” Almost all UDP supporters shall unfailingly answer with a vigorous “yes”, but none can possibly explain why.  They may most likely give a conditioned “reason” why they think such actions are wrong betraying in the process the ironclad limitations of their prejudices with arguments that support their conclusions.  This only shows that reason or rationality is a tool that is neither impartial nor objective.  Rationality is just like a briefcase lawyer or a government spokesman… No wonder lawyers make very lousy politicians- their lack of wisdom, political judgment; and especially the lack of capacity for empathetic understanding of others, sensitivity to the socio-political environment and immediate reality.  If you want to change people’s mind to vote for you then you must appeal to their hearts, the seat of emotions.

People elect candidates in elections the same way they acquire food preferences. This is not mere speculation but a well-researched study by world renowned scientists. My favorite example is the work of the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt who wrote the book “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion”.  People choose parties and candidates like they chose their favorite cuisines and if Henry’s “Dahin Sipa Sipa” smells more appealing than anything plain yellow then they will stick with Henry.

Haidt argues we do have universal moral “taste receptors” like our palate which can sense political flavors. This bridges our biology to our politics once again reflecting Aristotle’s political animal.  Most of the opposition ‘flavors’ or brand revolves around either personalities or their so-called manifestos.  None of their personalities except Barrow’s appealed to the voters.  UDP had a 5- point promises or agenda, Essa Faal had a Soobeya Blueprint that looks like a pitchbook straight out of an investment bank; and PDOIS has a manifesto more obfuscated that Karl Marx’s dialectical materialism—none of which appealed to most people who voted last Saturday.  Barrow had one simple and elegant agenda: victory at all costs.  This resonated more with the innate moral foundations of authority, sanctity, and liberty with a powerful subliminal appeal that voters cannot resist.  Political elections are evolutionary fitness tests in the public realm.  We all carry a selfish gene with a deep desire to always win and flourish.  Incumbency gave him the authority/sanctity appeal; and his personality is simply non-overbearing. President Barrow tapped deep into this human genetic interest with a stroke of unanalyzable genius and skill; and he won!

The UDP in the other hand made subliminal appeals to identity politics (Aji Yam Secka in Niani and Lawyer Darboe in Basse) which were nothing but empty parochial altruism- feigning an inclination to care more about a particular tribe at the expense of the state.  This has been the UDP’s fatal flaw throughout the campaign.  Caring for any socially integrated group of Gambians must be more than just symbolic.  A politician must demonstrate care for the people by communicating with candor, sincerity, and making universal appeals to all Gambians in all regions of the country.  The UDP is so convinced of their own self-righteousness agenda to a point of blind sighting themselves at their own peril.  It takes real courage to challenge/question one’s belief system and demons.  Moral courage allows for the interaction of heart and mind in a healthy mental framework and in politics.  Hopefully, their earth-shattering defeat in the polls shall teach them a lesson to be civil in their politics and learn from their opponents by empathizing with dissent.

By Madi Jobarteh

Given the storm that has arisen in the wake of the December 4 presidential polls, many people have reached out to me asking how elections are conducted in the Gambia and if it could be manipulated or cheated. Of course, over the past few days, I have also heard so many outrageous stories being peddled that the election was stolen. Thus, as someone who has been involved in elections management in the Gambia over the past 15 years, this is what I tell those people.

First of all, the materials used for elections in the Gambia are the metallic ballot drums with a nozzle and a bicycle bell fitted inside the drum just below the nozzle, and translucent crystal balls or marbles. Probably this is the most primitive, direct and simplest election materials in the history of the modern world. Yet, by its crudeness it is also the safest, most secure and most difficult to manipulate or cheat.

In Gambian elections, the polling staffs includes staff from IEC and party agents. Every party or candidate in the election is required to provide an agent at every stage of the election. Together they all sit at the polling desk to receive voters. These agents are provided the voter roll so that together with the IEC staff, they also check if a voter’s name is on the list or not before the voter is handed a marble by the presiding officer. Hence no one can vote without a party agent not knowing and seeing the name of that voter in the voter list for that polling station. If he does not see it, he can raise objection and record and report to his or her party.

First of all, before voting starts, all polling staffs (both IEC and party agents) swear to an oath of due execution of office and secrecy, publicly. Then the presiding officer opens the ballot drums one by one so that all polling staffs look into it to confirm that they drum is actually empty. Then the drums are sealed with some kind of tough material which cannot be untied except broken or cut. Each seal has a serial number which polling staffs (including party agents) are required to record. This is the basic opening procedure before voting starts.

Before the ballot drums are placed in the voting booth, they are tied together by metallic binding wire by their handles such that one cannot move one drum alone but will need to move the entire set of drums together. And I can tell you that these drums are damn heavy. These opening of polls procedure also include the presiding officer counting the marbles she has received which are recorded by all the party agents present, as well as by observers and the journalists if they want to.

Next, at the polling station, there are domestic and international observers in addition to media. There are also voters who are already in the queue watching everything from a distance. The security officers on elections duties are also present and witnesses to every step of the procedure. Therefore, the setup is such that the election materials are secure and safe at all times and viewed by all.

When voting starts, the presiding officer sits closest to, but outside from where the ballot drums are placed so that she can hear the bell ring when a marble is dropped inside. If the presiding officer did not hear a bell ring after a voter gets in and comes out, she can ask the voter whether he voted or not. Furthermore, she can decide to go inside the booth to confirm but she has to be accompanied by the security officers and party agents. Sometimes some voters put a marble in their pocket and leave or just place it on top of the drum instead of dropping it inside. The presiding officer can intervene to either retrieve the marble or show the voter how to vote.

At the close of polls, the presiding officer asks the party agents and the security to go inside the voting booth to retrieve the drums which are still tied together. But first the nozzle through which marbles are dropped is sealed to prevent any more voting. Then the left-over marbles are counted and recorded as in the beginning. Remember at every stage of these procedures from the beginning to the counting of the vote, various forms are signed by the IEC officers and party agents to ensure confirmation.

After this, the drums are then taken out and placed in the middle of the polling station in full view of everyone before they are opened one by one. Once again, the polling staffs including party agents cross check the seals and their numbers to make sure that they are the same numbers they had recorded during the opening process. When everything is confirmed then the seals are broken with a plier or knife.

It is now that counting on the spot begins drum by drum on a counting tray which can carry either 100 or 200 marbles at a time when filled. The process continues this way until the end. It is also necessary to note that the polling station is not to be populated by everyone. Rather, there are accredited persons listed who can be present in the polling station, especially at these procedural stages to ensure non-interference. The security has the power to remove any unaccredited person. The observers and media can also report the presence of such persons.

At every stage of the counting process, the figure is recorded by all polling staffs and party agents on prescribed forms. The number of votes for each candidate are announced loudly for all to hear. When counting is done, then the Presiding Officer takes the result to the collation centre for verification by the Assistant Returning Officer. The results are escorted by security officers and party agents from the polling station. At the collation centre, there are also two party agents to observe the tabulation and upon satisfaction they sign the result form.

Next the Assistant Returning Officer sends the results in a sealed envelope to the IEC Regional Office who also verify. At the Regional Office, there are also two party agents who also observe the verification and upon satisfaction they sign the result form. Next the results are transmitted to the IEC headquarters where there are again party agents to verify the results and then sign the results form. It is after all these processes of verification in the presence of party agents, that the IE Chairman would now announce the results to the nation.

Therefore, the results that go to the Assistant Returning Officer and then to the Regional Office and then to the IEC headquarters is the same result that party agents already have and know. By that time, they would have already informed their party structures about the results. Remember, when in 2016 elections IEC announced the first results, by then Yaya Jammeh had already known that he had lost to Adama Barrow by 19 thousand votes which he himself said. Therefore, how can anyone cheat elections in this country? Even Yaya Jammeh could not cheat on election day and he never attempted because it is practically impossible.

The only way to cheat on election day in the Gambia will be to burn down the entire polling station, or destroy ballot drums, or prevent party agents, observers and the media from being present at the polling stations or bribe all of them not to record or make false claims.  Who can do this?

Therefore, the claim that December 4 presidential elections are stolen is utterly false and outrageous.

Therefore, to those who are in doubt about the credibility of elections in the Gambia, rest assured that there is no cheating on election day in the Gambia, so far. Never. It is not possible. If it happens, no one will be in doubt.

For the Gambia Our Homeland

Essa got a little over-confident when going into this. He thought his new-found fame that came by the grace of the TRRC would translate into votes. He shouldn’t forgive the person who told him this lie.

Essa actually looked like something who was going to do really well in this election. Since announcing his bid in September, a lot of citizens quickly endorsed him. His Buffer Zone meeting was well attended and little wonder he declared that the love was real.

It now looks like fake love going by this election. I predicted that Essa would come third in this election and failed. Even Halifa who Essa taunted as having crude ideas at the presidential debate did better than him. This is some rude awakening for the flamboyant lawyer.

This election came with a mixed bag of shock and surprise for some including Essa. One would have expected him to do well in Banjul at least. This is where he comes from. But only 612 people saw him worthy of being president out of a staggering 21,000 voters.

I felt sorry for him when I saw him wave at a crowd of supporters that gathered at UDP leader Darboe’s house as he arrived at Darboe’s house to meet the UDP leader. That was a fake wave. This was a clearly stunned and shocked and confused man. A man who couldn’t understand what was happening to him.

Essa must now take stock of his disastrous performance. His performance has betrayed his TRRC fame and he has to conduct an inquiry into what went wrong.

Today marks International Human Rights Day dedicated to the promotion of human rights awareness and protection in celebration of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The day cannot be more significant for the world in these times, especially for the Gambia which just came out of a 22-year culture of human rights violations under the APRC Regime. It is five years since Gambians ousted that regime yet the protection of human rights remains a challenge in this country.

The theme for this year is, “Equality, Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.” This theme relates to the human rights principle and objective of ‘Equality’ as espoused in Article 1 of the UDHR that ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’ The principle of equality is at the heart of human rights. Where there is equality, there is non- discrimination. Hence without accepting that all human beings are equal in rights and dignity regardless of sex, origin, tribe, belief, birth or any other status, there will be discrimination which gives birth to exclusion, prejudice and leads to violations.

It is obvious that there is a high prevalence of inequality in the Gambia, socially, economically and politically. There is widespread and deep-seated culture of discrimination, exclusion, prejudice and violence in this society. These are based upon and fuelled by the caste system and patriarchy which are fused with the stinking culture of corruption and lack of accountability across the society. As a result, there is a perpetual violation of the rights and dignity of persons on account of their origin, birth, sex, disability, age or other status. These violations are perpetrated in Gambian homes, schools, markets, streets and other public spaces, in the communities and work places in the public and private sectors.

The 1997 Constitution guarantees the equality of all citizens. Section 1 subsection 2 stipulates that sovereignty of the Gambia resides in the people, meaning all Gambians are equal in sovereignty, hence rights, as the source of power and authority. Chapter Four of the Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms of all citizens without any distinction. It has guaranteed the equality of men and women in Section 28, the rights of children in Section 29, and the rights of persons with disabilities in Section 31. Furthermore, Section 33 guarantees the right of all before the law and prohibits any law that is discriminatory. These constitutional provisions on equality are further buttressed by the Women’s Act, the Children’s Act and now the Disability Act, among other laws.

However there still remains some provisions in the various laws of the Gambia that undermine equality in various ways. At the same time, despite the Constitution guaranteeing equality, several cultural practices remain that contravene the Constitution on this issue. The prevalence of the caste system in many communities is an affront to the principle of equality. The caste system does not only perpetrate and perpetuate inequality but also encourages discrimination, dehumanisation, and violence against persons including sexual and gender-based violence while limiting the voice and participation of citizens in the affairs of their communities. Therefore, there is need to abolish the caste system because it is an offense to a democratic republic.

As we celebrate this day, it is also pertinent to highlight that after five years of removing the Dictatorship, draconian provisions still hold sway in the Criminal Code, Public Order Act, Information and Communications Act, the Elections Act, Official Secrets Act, while anti-human rights provisions can be found in the Constitution such as denying persons to hold certain public offices simply because they hold a dual citizenship. These laws need to change in order to guarantee equality not only before the law but also ensure availability and access to opportunities, power and enhance citizenship participation.

Equally concerning on a day like today is to realise that violations of rights continue to take place perpetrated by the State and non-state actors of which there have been no accountability until today. Without accountability, human rights are meaningless simply because violations and perpetrators go unchecked hence impunity. Over the past five years there have been numerous violations for which the Government said they were investigating yet there has been no result shared with the public.

These cases include the gruesome murder of Marie Mendy and Zilson Gomez for which there is still no justice and accountability since April 2021. The cases of Haruna Jatta of Kanilai in 2017, Ousman Darboe in Sere Kunda as well as Kebba Secka in Senegambia continue to be ignored since 2019. Until today, no one knows the case of PIU officers who were standing trial for the killing of protesters in Faraba in 2018. In May 2021, an 11-year old boy was raped and there is still no justice. In October 2021, a fire incident at Bilal Boarding School killed 5 young boys yet until today there is no justice. Where are the police investigation reports?

As recent as this week, we have seen the paramilitary police use unnecessary force on unarmed citizens in and around the compound of UDP leader’s home leading to injuries. Rather PIU officers were seen celebrating their actions of using teargas on people. We are yet to see any investigation by the police on the actions of it officers in that incident. In Brikamaba, drug law enforcement officers severely manhandled a young man in September leading to severe bodily injuries. That incident as well as the assault on one Ebrima Sanneh by the Commander of the Anti-Crime Unit Gorgui Mboob in 2020 all point to not only the destruction to human rights in this country, but also the failure of security sector reforms.

In all of these cases, either there is no justice or justice is being subverted in such a way that the perpetrator is rewarded while the victim is neglected. As the Gambia have just elected a new president, it is critical therefore that these issues be brought before him so that the necessary attention is given to these issues. Meantime, if there is any lesson to learn, it is that all citizens must now stand up to become Human Rights Defenders in this country. If we fail to do so, then the rights of each and every one of us are under threat.

For The Gambia Our Homeland

……………………………………………..

Madi Jobarteh

Skype: madi.jobarteh

Twitter: @jobartehmadi

LinkedIn: Madi Jobarteh

Phone: +220 9995093

By Dr Ebrima Ceesay

Late Joseph Goebbels, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, said something along these lines: repeating misinformation does not make it true, but it can make it more likely to be believed. Indeed, it was Adolf Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, who said: “If you repeat a lie often enough, it will become accepted as truth.” Psychologists call this phenomenon the “illusion of truth effect”.

Relatedly, two people can also look at the same glass and see completely different things. In other words, some view the glass as half-full, while others see the glass as half-empty, and this manifestation is referred to as “perception” by psychologists. Needless to say, our perceptions profoundly impact how we approach matters or things in life. Therefore, the lesson to learn is that the power of perception cannot be underestimated, and one ignores it at his or her own peril, as the UDP leader, Ousainu Darboe, has just found out the hard way, in this year’s presidential Election. But more on that later. In effect, perception, not necessarily factual; yet, it can, nonetheless, feel very real and can actually mould, shape, and influence how human beings approach situations and make decisions. In fact, perception can be said to be the lens through which we view people, events, form judgements and make decisions.

The UDP lost not because they aren’t a commanding force but because they divorced the silent majority that they needed the most.

The UDP lost not because they do not love and intend good for our country The Gambia, they lost because they substituted the art of political persuasion with unruly behavior and intimidation by a majority diaspora contingent that unfortunately have no voters cards to decide.

The UDP lost not because they do not have a majority peaceful membership but lost because they have a rotten few whose pleasure is derived from cursing people sometimes as old as their parents and imaginarily disenfranchising and displacing any who dares disagree with them because for them, it is always their way or the highway.

The UDP lost not because they do not have people within them that have the potentials and technical know-how of stirring the affairs of our dear motherland to the dreamland. They lost because they refused to embrace the early warnings issued by well-meaning Gambians about the fear a few bunch of her militants have been instilling in the hearts and minds of peace loving electorates who in their own words are okay continuing with an incompetent Barrow than welcoming an intimidating UDP – an echo that roamed every corner of Gambia before, during and even after the elections because it was voting against the UDP, not for competency in the presidency.

But how soon can the UDP forget that it is the dislike of fear that made Jammeh and his APRC lose in 2016?

The UDP lost not because they aren’t a committed and resilient party. In fact they’re in my view, and until the elections, the party with the most committed and resilient membership but they lost because some of her membership mistaken belonging to the party for the ugly cause of “we vs them” as demonstrated many times by the rogue ones amongst them before the elections.

The UDP lost not because they weren’t prepared for what lies ahead in terms of electioneering but lost because they didn’t realize that some of her members especially online have over the course of the past five years costed and caused enormous damage in our society that aroused a protest vote against what the majority voters perceived as fear of tribalism, bigotry, disenfranchisement, profanity, profiling and unaccountable pride manifested by a bunch of the UDP supporters on and offline which was known to the leadership of the party but ignored because it was probably serving its purpose – shutting up and atmost scaring away the very people they’ll need and meet at the polls on their dream journey of disembarking at the State House.

Yes, the UDP lost because they have the “TRRC” and “sansanding bolong-baa” fora for cursing people including their long dead parents instead of a “boka loho” or “nyo daayma” forum to entice voters which was needed for the realization or birth of a “Yellow Nation”.

They lost in the most painful way – on their last chance as a commanding and solitary party, on the last participation of their founding party leader, to one of their own making and probably by the biggest margin of their five presidential election defeats in history.

The UDP lost because they cared less about the respect that the silent majority deserved and got punished badly by that same silent majority in the most painful way.

However, her local militants especially my polite and peace loving friends and sisters Hawa, Sainabou, and Jainaba who have invested so much in time, sweat and resources in pushing for what would have been a well deserved victory for the party and most especially uncle Darboe, deserves an unreserved apology from the unruly bunch mainly in the diaspora that accorded the party futility in this election.

Yes, I mean an apology.

Lessons though are meant for reflection in order to learn the headway and so do I hope that the Republicans as I fondly call them, will together with the rest of the other political parties learn from this bitter lesson as means of avoiding repeats.

~ Muhammed Teks Tekanyi

#GambiansHaveSpoken

The end has arrived for Halifa Sallah – he has announced he is retiring from representation. The PDOIS leader will not seek political office ever again.

It’s actually strange that Halifa had a troubled career as a politician. It’s said a man must have a sinless character for him to be able to achieve certain things in life. That simply is not true with Halifa. His perfect character trait has cost him.

Halifa voted on Saturday and cried while talking to reporters. There’s only one thing that made him cry: Gambians are going to miss an opportunity to put the best man in office. He knew he wasn’t going to win and that broke his heart.

This election was important in many ways. It’s the election that will finally set Gambia on true democracy. Anyone who won must spearhead this. That person must also deliver a Gambia where the economy is thriving and citizens have decent jobs to be able to take care of themselves and their families.

If Halifa would have made a good choice? I believe so. He surely has the competence and ideas to run a government that would live up to expectation. But Halifa scoring just a little over 30,000 votes in the election shows just how far this man has continued to fall as a politician. Halifa is really not meant to be president.

But Halifa has done his part. He has lived a life of dignity as politician. He is not greedy and has been ruled by his conscience in the over 30 years he has been a politician. We will not have his sort again.

And before I go, I want to say if politics is religion where the first rule is to have the best of characters, Halifa would actually be the first person from Gambia to enter heaven. But politics is not religion after all.

By Madi Jobarteh

The leadership of UDP need to ask their members to stand down and allow NPP to peacefully celebrate their victory.

UDP should go to the courtroom and not on the street. The election results cannot be overturned on the street. Hence UDP will bear responsibility if violence erupts in this country!

Lawyer Darboe should understand that he bears command responsibility for the actions of his supporters in this circumstance, just as every other supporter also bears individual responsibility if they violate the law.

The leadership of UDP has legal capacity to know better. Therefore Lawyer Darboe should put it to his supporters to stand down ASAP. They have no reason whatsoever to be on the street. They must follow due process.

President Adama Barrow and the NPP are the winners of the December 4 elections until the next elections in 2026 or if the Supreme Court annuls the results. Until then there’s no justification for their current actions and no one has any power to overturn the verdict of the people.

UDP leadership should be honest to their membership especially the uninformed youths and not give them any false impressions or expectations.

NPP should be let to celebrate as they wish peacefully and without violence. All other parties should give them space. This would have been the case if it were Ousainou Darboe or Halifa Sallah or Essa Faal or any other candidate who was declared by the IEC Chairman as the duly elected president.

For the moment the duly elected president is Adama Barrow of NPP. Therefore let’s give NPP the chance and space to celebrate their victory. Period.

The men and women of conscience in UDP who are honest and brave should impress on their leadership and membership to stand down! The actions of their members are undemocratic, uncivil  and unnecessarily irresponsible.

All other political leaders, religious and traditional as well as business and CSO leaders and all men and women of conscience should speak up by telling truth to Ousainou Darboe and UDP to stand down. Go to court and not on the street!

For The Gambia ?? Our Homeland

If there are any political battlefield commanders who have done an incredible job for their parties in the lead up to this election, it’s Seedy Njie and Momodou Sabally.

Hate them or love them, Seedy Njie and Momodou Sabally have shown every fidelity and devotion to having their leaders win tomorrow’s election.

Seedy has at every turn been about President Barrow while Momodou Sabally has been about Darboe. Both men have spent the past months talking to voters, asking them to vote for their leader.

Commanders are all about winning wars. These two gentlemen are really commanders. Only that their mission has been to hand State House to their leaders – and really, never for once did they tire from this mission.

These men incidentally serve father and son, who as fate would turn out are also the two heavyweight contenders in this mammoth contest. However this goes, Seedy and Sabally should feel proud of what they have done for their leaders. Sabally even got the Commando sobriquet thanks his to service.

Still, Tomorrow’s election is set to live up to the hype and excitement. My grandmother who is close to 90 years old travelled alone this evening from Busumbala to our house in Ebo Town just for the election. And when I enquired if she will not have an issue identifying the candidate she will vote for among a staggering six candidates, she responded she has more experienced in voting than any of us. She is excited.

As Gambians go to the polls in less than 72 hours, it’s hard to muster enthusiasm for any of the top candidates.

Barrow is in the habit of spewing bald lies with a straight face, surrounded by mediocrity and incompetence. His greatest accomplishment seems to be leaving Gambia worse than he found it. This is no mean feat, given the person he took over from, Jammeh.

Lawyer Darboe seems more concerned about what being president means for him than what he can do for The Gambia. He had no problem supporting Barrow for three years as foreign minister and vice-president, while Gambians’ dreams of reform and better governance receded. I don’t see a Darboe government embarking on the radical changes needed to move the country forward.

Mama Kandeh’ alliance with APRC casts doubts on his ability to escape the influence and clutches of former leader, Yahya Jammeh. Despite allegations of human rights violations, Jammeh still retains immense influence among Gambian voters. It’s challenging to see a marked departure from corruption and governance deficits of the past if a president Kandeh stays politically wedded to Jammeh.

In the ultimate analysis, it’s futile nurturing any attachment to outcomes in the process. If the majority of Gambians want a better life, they should use this opportunity to elect people of competence and integrity.

Incompetence and corruption should not be rewarded with blind loyalty. If Gambians choose to squander such an historic opportunity for change, then they should be well prepared to bear the consequences.

There’s not going to be any solace from above or below. The country we want is not gonna be handed to us, we have to build it.

Sainey Darboe, Vancouver,Washington

These past few weeks, The Gambia has been filled with the sights and sounds of the embrace of democracy. All around, people are discussing the presidential election, debating the issues, and questioning the candidates. Both elders and youth sport their preferred candidates’ colors and cheer them on at campaign appearances. And, at the U.S. Embassy, we couldn’t miss the noise of the crowds as they escorted their parties’ standard-bearers to the Election House to formally nominate their candidate in mid-November. It was deafening – but the energy, the sound of democracy, was infectious.

I can only imagine that all these sounds are music to Gambians’ ears. Such beautiful sounds were far more muted just five years ago when freedom of expression was stifled, and opposition leaders jailed. It took the courageous Gambian people to go to the polls and change the course of history, inspiring those who aspire for democracy around the world. The resolve of the Gambian people is what made what we see today possible.

Today, The Gambia is a different place, and the United States celebrates the transformation that is underway. We join with the Gambian people in dreaming big to envision a brighter future of democracy and prosperity. This is why we are now investing more than $50 million in programs to advance democracy and human rights, along with development programs that foster economic prosperity. In November, for example, the United States signed a $25 million Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement with the Gambian government to launch a threshold project focused on supporting Gambian-led initiatives to improve The Gambia’s energy and electricity sector.

So much positive change does not come about without resolve and intention. The positive energy comes from Gambians young and old who are overwhelmingly committed to civic engagement and peacefully participating in the democratic process. Earlier this year, I saw this myself as we traveled throughout the country and visited even the smallest villages where people were lined up, calmly, to register to vote. I talked to hundreds of people, including many women eager to be part of the process and make important choices for their families. And young people, so full of vigor, said that they were excited to make decisions that would impact their futures.

While some parties missed out on the opportunity presented by a live, televised presidential debate to take their message to the Gambian people and demonstrate what clearly sets them apart from the other candidates, we applaud the candidates willing to do so through the Commission on Public Debates’ presidential debates. Gambian voters will only benefit from the opportunity to see those aspiring for the presidency answer a moderator’s questions, especially when submitted by citizens themselves.

As the vote draws near, we encourage all to continue the goodwill and peaceful competition of ideas we have seen thus far. We are confident that whether engaging in political discussions in person or on social media, the traditional Gambian cultural trait of treating others with dignity and respect – friend, family, or stranger –will be on display for all the world to learn from and admire.

We also take note that all the candidates have publicly committed to accepting the election results and the will of the Gambian voters, whether they win or lose, and are committed to working together to build a stronger Gambia. As I have said, the United States does not take sides in endorsing any candidate. Our top “candidate” is a peaceful continuation – and strengthening – of democracy. The will of the people, the active involvement of the Gambian people, is what must ultimately win.

On election day, our Embassy will be working in coordination with international partners and Gambian civil society organization to observe and support electoral processes across The Gambia. Our goal is to help ensure what we expect will be credible, free, and transparent election procedures.

Since this is my first Gambian presidential election, I am eager to watch as Gambians drop their marbles in the drums –a somewhat different process than in the United States. I can’t wait to hear those marbles drop, which is yet another encouraging sound of democracy in action. And most of all, it is the sound of #PeacefulVoteSmilingCoast.

The writer, R. Carl Paschall, is the Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of The Gambia.

By Dibba Chaku

The Independent Electoral Commission being the referee responsible for conducting elections in The Gambia should drift away from being notorious for habitual errors and gravitate towards operational excellence for the citizens to continue to have confidence in the electioneering process. This is a Commission that received a plethora of commendation for the pivotal role it played in ensuring that the will of the Gambian people was not subverted in the 2016 presidential election. One would have expected the IEC to build on that success, but the habitual errors and the feckless performance from this institution is forcing us to question the level of preparedness of the referee in this year’s election.

The last time that The Gambia had a presidential election was in December of 2016. One institution that is certainly not oblivious of the fact that the next round of presidential elections will be held in December 2021 is the IEC. That gives them ample time to prepare for this monumental event by streamlining and improving on their processes from voter registration, nomination of candidates, to the conduct of the elections. How did they perform at the voter registration stage? They issued a statement-long press release that the registration exercise was postponed until further notice, just a week before the commencement date of the voter registration. After the registration exercise, they told us that there were multiple registrations by some people. The IEC retracted that statement later by saying that was an error on their part. Then came the nominations which they made look like it was some WAEC exam meant to set a trap for candidates to fall into, and many fell into that trap, hence the many rejections. The sequel of events surrounding the CA and GMC court cases against the IEC is a clear indication that the institution’s performance is just not good enough.

The final leg of this contest is the casting of the ballots, collation, and declaration of the winner. The IEC keeps inundating us with the assurance that the presidential election will be free, fair, and credible. We may not doubt that but their track record of committing errors, and inability to do it right the first time are reasons to question their level of preparedness. Looking at the number of candidates contesting in this year’s elections, the tenacity of Gambians in the democratization process, and the euphoria surrounding the political campaign, it is without a jot of doubt that this election is unprecedented. Therefore, the independent referee to conduct such a high-stake election cannot be unprepared and unbothered. They need to dot their i’s and cross their t’s come December 4. Failing to do that means this institution does not understand that its decisions and actions have more profound consequences than one may think. Election 2021 is a monumental event that Gambian voters are looking forward to, considering the level of political activity in the country despite the global pandemic that has ravaged communities and confronted every level of the world economy. The quality of refereeing in this national event should neither be mediocre nor feckless.

Sidi Sanneh, the despondent Gambian octogenarian infamous for living a worthless and quarantined life in the USA has finally come out last night to endorse Lawyer Ousainou Darbo and the UDP in the December presidential race.

I am not necessarily advising the UDP not to accept the endorsement of the ignoramus but if they really plan to do so I only hope they will think twice or read this paper first before making it public.

To start with Sidi is notorious for every reason imaginable about an underachiever and is a genius in using his reprehensible track record as source of weapons to fabricate all sorts of allegations against his perceived enemies whether real or imagined.

After futilely trying every conceivable machination to gain employment from President Barrow he now as habitual digs deep into his reservoir of toxicity for weapons to spew against our well-loved president. Sidi Sanneh a man whose name during the PPP government was synonymous with corruption, scandalously committed the worst economic crimes in the Gambia as a tender-board member especially at the education department; and while working at the ADB in Ivory Coast was dishonorably dismissed and denied all his retirement benefits due to his unscrupulousness with the Bank’s funds; amazingly, this idiot was yesterday accusing  President Adama Barrow of being a corrupt leader. I am not making this up at all!

That said, if you want to know the most loathed scumbag in the so-called “diaspora” look for no person other than Sidi Sanneh whose record of treachery, untrustworthiness and deception matches none today. He again wants to reverse that hatred against him to accuse President Barrow of venting malicious remarks against those living in the diaspora. He shamelessly tried to associate himself with the positive “Diasporans” contributing immensely to the Gambian economy through remittance when he has no job and has never sent a dime here; but that aside, who has ever heard President Adama Barrow making any derogatory remarks against the hundreds and thousands of Gambians living and working honestly abroad that prompted this jackass to fabricate such nonsense? Other than consistently praising them, he has never discredited or degraded any of their efforts.

As a matter of fact, the last time I checked, the overwhelming majority of Gambians currently living abroad are in total support of President Barrow and his government and are zealously rooting for his reelection on December 4, 2021. All of them have recognized and cherished  the good work of Barrow for particularly putting his foot down against the deportation of Gambian migrants from the West, following his shocking discovery that when Lawyer Ousainou Darbo was foreign minister he clandestinely signed the deportation agreement with Western governments. Thanks to the permanent secretary at the ministry of foreign affairs then the secret file bearing the entente was revealed to President Barrow and his government.

Trust me, all that Sidi Sanneh needs in a UDP government that I am afraid will not happen in his lifetime is his appointment to a position of cash to revitalize his extravagant life of dining, wining and wifing recklessly. If not there, to be appointed to a position-preferably an ambassadorial job-where to finally unleash his vindictive strategy of making life for every Gambian migrant living abroad miserable and unproductive. I can attest to the fact that he definitely hates all of them. His isolation in the West, without friends or genuine family members, is the bitterness slowly but surely consuming the heart of this scalawag.

But hopefully the UDP and Lawyer Darbo will soon be forwarded the audio made by his own daughter accusing him of repeatedly raping her in Abidjan while he was working there for the ADB hence compelling her to study law somewhere in Senegal just to get her nasty father after graduating.

Talking about cases of human immorality and filth, find me one worst than Sidi-no-good-for-nothing Sanneh and receive a special reward from me.

But trust me, time and events will eventually teach him the lesson he properly deserves.

SAMSUDEEN SARR

FOR: PRESIDENT ADAMA BARROW, 2021.

By Dibba Chaku

The commencement of the public hearings of the TRRC marks a watershed in our history as Gambians and the world were eager to know the truth about the plethora of human rights violations that occurred during Yahya Jammeh’s tyrannical rule. The public hearings became the centerpiece of discussions across the length and breadth of the country and in the diaspora. To some, these hearings revealed things they never imagine happened or could have happened in The Gambia. To others, some of the testimonies were confirmations of human rights violations or crimes they have heard about. As we look forward to the submission of the TRRC report and recommendations, I thought I would share with you my take on the TRRC and some of the things that stood out to me.

We have heard several witnesses narrate their ordeals as unpleasant as this may be, and you wonder if some of them had seen the silhouette of ‘Malak al Maut’ or angel of death in the hands of state agents who should have been their first line of defense under normal circumstances. Their victimization arose from unprofessional conduct by professionals believed to have been acting on orders from the top, high on some intoxicant or abuse of positional power. The only ‘crime’ committed by some of the victims was subscribing to a different political ideology or being on the other side of the political aisle. Others got victimized because of kin punishment, which is the practice of punishing family members of someone accused of a crime, either in place of or in addition to the alleged perpetrator. Those that got victimized because of their involvement in coup d’état or trying to do something about a brutal dictatorship that symbolizes terror were given “VIP treatment” which was nothing but inhumane treatment at the highest level in the nastiest of forms. Despite the state and its apparatus knowing the lawful and right things to do in those circumstances, they chose the ‘keresubang’ route. Unfortunately for some, their victimization stemmed from lies peddled against them, so they suffered for things not of their own making. Others got victimized because they put their faith and trust in a leader and a system that would turn out to be their worst nightmare. Nonetheless, the victims must be commended for narrating their unpleasant ordeals. It is important to mention that not everything that was narrated at the TRRC represents the truth. There could be misrepresentation of facts at times, mistaken identity, or confusion over the sequence of events. However, that does not negate the existence of human rights violations.

The testimonies of the alleged perpetrators also stood out to me. There were those that spoke the truth and showed remorse for their involvement in the committal of crimes, and thanks to these people, the Commission was able to unearth the truth about some of the rights violations orchestrated clandestinely. Others came to the Commission fully prepared to mislead everybody by trimming, sanitizing and being economical with the truth as if the truth was some scarce resource that needed to be rationed. These witnesses either gave arguments that died on their lips, created alibis that never checked out, or resorted to amnesic syndromes that were never diagnosed. Their goal was to minimize their level of involvement in the perpetration of crimes or extricate themselves from responsibility. To these people, all efforts must be made to keep that skeleton in the cupboard. There were educated elite witnesses who were under the illusion that they are at par with the team of counsels, so they could ‘fiti fiti’ themselves out of that hot seat when beleaguered to cough out the truth or get it elicited from them, reluctantly. These are the ones that would deny something for hours only to turn around and accept it, hence wasting the Commission’s time. We also saw uncooperative witnesses who from the get-go proved to be difficult to guide. They refused to answer questions asked, instead preferred to answer their own questions. The uncooperative conduct and demeanor during their testimonies are clear indications of an intent to hide incriminating information. It was perplexing to watch them try to divert the attention of the Commission to some rare gesture of kindness on their part. They want us to believe that all allegations against them are unfounded, and that their version is veracious. Even when confronted with overwhelming corroborating evidence from multiple victims and witnesses, they still attempted to extricate themselves by cooking up stories that made absolutely no sense, not even to a first grader.

One institution that could be described as The Gambia’s shame is the notorious NIA as it was a major crime scene where lives were treated in a manner that was animalistic. The testimonies of its operatives and directors were startling in the sense that they all had been given a chance to help the TRRC, themselves and the Gambian people uncover the truth about our ugly and shameful past so we could create a roadmap that would prevent us from slipping back into that perilous ravine. Pathetically, the chance had been squandered by many, despite knowing fully well that no NIA operative or torture specialist is waiting to beat the crap out of them or even snuff the life out of them as that was the modus operandi when they were under the illusion that the world was at their feet and that the status quo would continue in perpetuity. Working for the NIA was ‘prestigious’ or ‘ostentatious’ at the time because the society feared them. They were believed to have too much power emanating from the State House, and they could do anything and everything without consequences. They performed their duties with pride, ferocity, and even went above and beyond defined duties at times. But there they were at the TRRC facing a whole nation and reluctant to describe their daily operations. The culpability of the NIA in committing gross human rights violations is unequivocal by all indications. The institution’s current director gave a marathon testimony in which he was very economical with the truth, withheld vital information and even attempted to mislead the Commission. There was a witness that escaped the coils of torture from the NIA and ran naked to the police headquarters. If a fully grown man would prefer running down the streets of Banjul naked to continuing to endure the torture meted out on him, you need not be an expert to imagine the gravity of the ‘keresubang’ act being inflicted on him. Masking the truth about this institution and the nefarious acts of its directors and operatives amounts to nothing but disingenuity.

Kudos to the TRRC for doing a fantastic job of unearthing the truth about our ugly and shameful past. As the saying goes, we cannot change the past, but we can certainly learn from it to shape the future. The naysayers can deny the revelations or call this exercise a witch-hunt, but it is without a jot of doubt that there were serious human rights violations that consumed lives, incapacitated people, ravaged families beyond repairs, severed ties and displaced many. Pregnant women had their husbands snatched away from them for good. Lactating mothers had to fend for their babies alone as their husbands got usurped from them. Able-bodied men got electrocuted, castrated, maimed, strangled, and buried in shallow graves. We had a severely messed up system in which the vaguest suspicion was enough to arrest, abduct, torture, and even kill at times. Let us remind ourselves that these perpetrators did not emanate from planet Mars or descend from the Banjul skies. They are our very own fathers, uncles, nephews, brothers, sons, cousins, or ordinary everyday Gambians. Now whether the report and recommendations will be implemented to the letter, just shelved, or some cherry-picking will happen at the implementation stage is the prerogative of the government of the day.

IEC’s gamble with the law has backfired big time. In this Gambian day and age, you can’t go about breaking the law and think you will not get caught.

When the IEC announced that 15 out of the 21 candidates who filed their nomination for president have been rejected, it for a moment felt they were out to decongest the room by all means necessary.

From the off, the IEC did not look prepared to have so many candidates contest the December election. That the chairman of the commission stood up at a meeting and said paper ballot must be used for this election is an indictment. But that IEC officials were throwing out people’s nomination without regard for law is what one will struggle to fathom.

All along, the IEC peddled one misguided contention: that their decision is final and cannot be questioned by anyone. Well, the high court has just settled that.

This IEC bunch were arrogant towards Dr Ismaila Ceesay as the clearly wronged PhD holder politician sought answers from them. They treated him and his party with contempt by effing them off and arrogantly telling them: ‘go to court if you like, we have been sued seven times this year and nothing has come out of it’.

The IEC came out of court on Tuesday humiliated and looking out-of-sorts. They were also demystified. No wonder their director of admin told me ‘I will not say anything’ when I tried to sound him out.

Still, IEC is set for further humiliation in court as Mai Fatty too is after them and will now be licking his lips. This has clearly given him an idea as to how his own case could look like in the end.

But for the first time, I got scared of this IEC and went to bed thinking about them – if they will be able to really deliver this election. They are taking this election to be a play when it clearly is not.