The Case for a United Coalition of the Opposition for 2016 General Elections… By: People’s Progressive Party ( PPP) – Gambia. The PPP believes that the democratic process, and a free and fair elections is the only way for a peaceful change of government. The PPP is a victim of a violent and unconstitutional usurpation of power by the current AFPRC regime of Yaya Jammeh. The APRC regime, over the last twenty years has systematically dismantled the democratic process to entrench its illegal seizure of power in 1994. The PPP is ready and capable to join others in restoring democracy back to Gambia in 2016. The PPP hereby reiterate its commitment and unconditional support for a united coalition of the opposition parties in The Gambia for 2016 General elections. We are calling on all parties who believe in rescuing our beloved country from twenty years of Dictator Yaya Jammeh’s tyranny and misrule. We are also calling on all Gambians, at home and abroad, to join with us in demanding for comprehensive electoral reforms before the 2016 electoral season. Yaya Jammeh’s record of lies, and broken promises speaks for itself, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake. My friends, today Gambians are in a stage of siege in their own country, in an open air prison, in the Gulag of the Tropics …. and it’s time to restore good governance and the rule of law. My friends, elections are a game of numbers, and in the current electoral set up in Gambia, the numbers just don’t and will not add up for a divided and fragmented opposition to win a general election For too long, people have underestimated Yaya Jammeh’s determination to make himself president for life. He took steps early on to dismantle the democratic process to ensure that he can win elections with a simple majority, for perpetuity. Yaya Jammeh is not democratic, never has been, never will be, he simply figured out a way to deceitfully and cynically twist the rules in his favor, with the complicity of too many good people. He does Not need to have 50% plus 1, to claim victory. With a simple majority, he can claim victory even if he only gathers some 35% of the votes cast, as long as individually, none of the other candidates win more than he does. This simply means, collectively, a fragmented and divided opposition may win some 65% of the votes and still lose. Yaya Jammeh is very much aware of that, in a free and fair election, he will lose hands down. The people may be terrified of him, for good reason (because of all the unsolved murders and assassinations, and disappearances), but they don’t love him. He just cannot buy enough love with his misguided benevolence. There has been precedence in recent elections, when people had the chance, they voted against his chosen candidates, in Banjul mayoral elections and elsewhere. With the odds stacked so high against the opposition, no single opposition party has the resources and logistics to challenge Jammeh across the country. No single party alone can win an outright first round in the general elections against the incumbent, period. President Macky Sall of Senegal would never have been president without a second round, without getting the math right through a unified coalition. With that said, without a unified coalition, the opposition will just be like sheep being led to the slaughterhouse, or walked over the edge of the cliff. History will not be kind to the opposition parties, if we miss this opportunity to take on the Dictator, across the country and expose his naked failures misrule, human rights abuses, a failed economy, chronic youth unemployment, with half of the country’s brain power in exile. Jammeh is at his lowest point, with the international community finally ready to impose targeted and biting economic sanctions, illegal asset freezes, and travel bans on his inner circle, and on his globetrotting and imported wife. What a Coalition can do, …what it would mean… Coalitions by definition, is a temporary political arrangement with the objective of attaining a desired outcome. The objective here would be to end twenty years of Yaya Jammeh’s unconstitutional rule, and reverse his violent usurpation of power in 1994. A united coalition will speak with one loud voice, to demand electoral reforms, to level the field, and give access to state resources, radio and television. A united coalition will also be able to raise funds from people who would otherwise be skeptical of donating to a divided opposition, destined to lose. The December 2013 joint campaign by UDP and the PPP has shown that people are yearning for leadership and direction from the opposition. The silent majority in Gambia is like a low hanging fruit sitting there for the picking. Yaya Jammeh’s biggest nightmare is a united coalition, because he will have to start taking us seriously, and forced to answer real questions. A united coalition will knock him off his arrogant and entitled perch, as if the Gambian people owe him something. This man has lied so much over the years that the opposition can land punches even if they close their eyes. Jammeh promised Gambians everything under the sky and has delivered zero. He promised to build a railway by 2013, that he discovered oil, in the continental shelf, all by himself, that he will turn Gambia into the Dubai of the tropics, and he can cure all sorts of disease, including AIDS, but conveniently chooses to ship his family overseas when they have a headache. Despite all that buffoonery, Jammeh has failed in all the indicators, economically and socially. Today, Yaya Jammeh’s hands are dripping with the blood of Gambians, and with his lips are dripping with words blind anger, treachery, arrogance, condescension, venom and vitriol What can you do…. You can start by joining the PPP to provide the people for the work on the ground, or to donate and volunteer. If you are a member of another political party, we urge to call on your leadership to join with us to create a coalition now, because we have a small window of opportunity in order to be effective. We need you to start talking to your friends and family at home and in the diaspora to be the change they have been looking for, for twenty years. A better future for Gambia lies in your hands and no other person can do it for you. Let’s work together to usher in a change of government, a government that will be representative of our religious, regional and ethnic diversity based on merit and patriotism. Let’s join together to elect a government that respects and honors our Gambian values, that rewards hard and honest work. The only hope for the political prisoners languishing and wilting away at Mile 2 prisons, is a new government, a government that will free all political prisoners immediately, investigate all the political assassinations, disappearances, the April 2000 student murders. We need your participation in restoring a government that will restore autonomy back to the local and traditional governance, where people once again, elect their own leaders. The current local and traditional leadership is an extension of Yaya Jammeh tyranny, thuggery and thievery. This is a struggle that you cannot outsource to anybody, we expect you to say “present”. Salvation is a group experience, it cannot be achieved in isolation. Remember, we either unite or perish together in 2016. Please share this post on Facebook or any other platform. Please donate to the PPP through pppgambia Thank you People’s Progressive Party ( PPP) – Gambia.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 06:21:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015