President Jammeh has been making pronouncements that he cannot be removed from power through elections, and if he wants he will remain in the presidency for the next billion years, and this is usually in reaction to perceived adversaries in the Diaspora and at home. Maybe, not necessarily link with Jammeh’s pronouncements, a good number of activists in the Diaspora have given up in the election process, which they argued would only legitimize the dictator. According to most of their arguments, Jammeh will steal the elections, and even if he were to lose he will never concede. Listening to an interview from Halifa Sallah, the Secretary General of PDOIS, who made a very interesting point: “power only concedes to superior power”, which really means that a determined Gambian people can bring an end to our nightmare if we are able to mobilize the people.
As an election advocate, I have come to believe that the 2016 General elections can be the last stand to give every Gambian the opportunity to remove Jammeh and begin the rebuilding of our country. The key to the building of this superior power lies in our ability to put together mass mobilization in and outside of the country, with singular voice that Jammeh has to go. Of course, like all dictators, Jammeh cannot show weakness and will continue to project invincibility that he definitely cannot be removed through the ballot. Interestingly, his actions do not match his rhetoric. If he is convinced that he cannot be removed through the ballot or his hold to the Gambian people, why the need to tour the length and breadth of the country, using intimidation tactics and divide and rule rhetoric… As to the argument that, the elections cannot be free and fair and will be stolen by Jammeh by using the power of the state, our collective response is to launch the superior power of a determined people coming together and demand a free and fair elections. Our political reality is that, irrespective of what tool we decide to utilize from the tool box to liberate the Gambian nation, we will succeed if we are able to mobilize the support of the Gambian people. The majority of Gambians, inside and outside of the country is tired of the Jammeh regime, and basically waiting for a credible vessel that they can get on board to bring sanity back to the country. How do we come up with the vessel that will bring all Gambians on board, and give us the mass mobilization needed to take our country back is indeed the critical issue that we need to confront.
The ideal in a multiparty democracy is to have all of us to support our party of choice, in all aspects, financially, logistically and contributing ideas that will give the party the edge to win the support of the Gambian people. Points have been raised that the best way for the Diaspora to contribute, is to identify and support a party of their choice and give them the necessary support that can be used to build the mass mobilization needed to bring an end to the Jammeh dictatorship. Unfortunately, even though I understand the logic of the thinking, I am not convinced that we have the luxury to focus on party politics. After twenty years of dictatorship under the Jammeh regime, it is very apparent that most Gambians, irrespective of their party leaning, ethnicity, region of origin, have one common goal: yearning to bring freedom, liberty, the end to the killings, the end to using the judiciary as a tool to send people to prison, and hopefully usher in a new Gambia where we can all participate in this market of democracy. Like most Gambians in the struggle, I understand that PDOIS as a party is convinced that with the power of their message, their contribution to decades of dedication in informing and enlightening the Gambian people, they have what it takes to bring change to the shores of the Gambia. I am also well aware that the UDP, being the party with more support than any other party in the country, with grassroots structures all over the country, are absolutely convinced that their party is well placed to bring an end to Jammeh. The PPP, the party that gave us our independence, and now that we have seen how the APRC has destroy whatever semblance of development and democracy we have had, that was the envy in the sub-region, and with our support they are convinced that they can take off where they left.
All these sentiments from these parties and others that I have not mentioned are actually convincing. But at this juncture, strategically, the need for the building of this mass mobilization starts with freeing ourselves from these party bubbles, and focus on coming together under one democratic tent, whose main mission is to give Gambians the opportunity to take our country back. We are not interested in party platforms and prescriptions, but rather to get answers to who is responsible for the killing of Deyda, the disappearances of hundreds of Gambians, the mismanagement of the economy, the high jacking of the judiciary, and ultimately bring peace and stability back to the Gambia. Now is the time for all Gambians to put country first, and do whatever it takes to initiate this mass mobilization that is a key to confronting state power, and use the 2016 General elections to bring an end to the Jammeh regime.
There is skepticism and genuine cynicism among activists to the idea of going to elections, especially under the prevailing conditions. The recent development of this new election bill, again a clear manifestation that this is a Govt not interested in playing by the rules, but also a sign to a Government very much concerned about his support base come 2016, or even his ability to highjack the process against the backdrop of a determined populace. The election process is a viable option because it is a legal framework that can be used, and bring entire country interested in a new Gambia to participate in. Remember, it is going to take superior power to confront state power, and deny him the ability to monopolize the process. Together, we can fight to make sure that the rules of the election process has to be changed, and make sure that ultimately all Gambians will have a say in the choosing of their elected members, and that is not negotiable. Speaking with one voice, we can be much more effective in taking the message to Gambians inside and outside of the country, making it clear to institutions inside the country as well that we will not sit idly by and allow them to be accomplishing in the oppressing of the Gambian people. The key is to have all of us got on board this vessel, and with compromises and consensus with only one goal: to bring an end to the Jammeh regime, and usher in a new dispensation. The creation of this vessel is not going to be easy, especially if we are bent on holding on to our party platforms. There is no doubt we need the leadership of the political parties, their compromises to initiate the creation of this democratic vessel for the mass mobilization. We cannot hope and wait that people will eventually initiate this mass mobilization, or that building awareness alone will eventually bring about the mass mobilization. All Gambians are aware that the country is heading in the wrong direction, and are hoping that change is imminent, but with a determined dictator using violence and threat of violence has made it difficult to see a path out of this nightmare. In every civilization, it takes a few, sometimes call the Founding Fathers that will lead a people and do what is right to start the building blocks for liberty and freedom. The Gambian people are hoping for the party leaders to take the responsibilities of our Founding Fathers and lead us out of this nightmare, and come together and immediately start the conversation to the creation of this vessel that will bring all of us on board, and with this mobilization Jammeh and the APRC will be history even before the actual voting come 2016.
Musa Jeng