(JollofNews) – An opposition leader in the Gambia has questioned the validity of last Thursday’s National Assembly election results.
Mamma Kandeh of the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) said the elections were never free and fair and his party has documented serious irregularities in many constituencies across the country.
“We have gathered lots of information of what have transpired during the electoral process, which we are not satisfied with. We will make it available to every Gambian and the whole world so that everybody will see what have happened during this last parliamentary election,” he told reporters in Banjul.
Mr Kandeh also took issues with the decision of President Adama Barrow to tour the country during the campaign period. He said the president’s tour has heavily influenced voters.
He added: “President Barrow went on a nationwide tour and although he is not a member of any political party, he used the tour to campaign on behalf of political parties calling themselves coalition candidates. This to me is cheating.
And it was disappointing to hear the president tell people that he is happy to have achieved a third number of parliamentarians to work with. This means that he is a president of a few and is not there to work with others.”
“We have also got records of him calling on people to vote for coalition candidates even though the electoral commission has made it clear that no candidate was contesting the election on the coalition’s ticket.
“We have also seen various candidates using the president’s photo and coalition symbol on their posters during the election, thereby misleading voters. This was completely unfair and disappointingly, it was never picked up by the election observers.”
The GDC boss rejected accusations that he had used his campaign speeches to fan tribalism and induce voters.
“The GDC never violated any election law,” he said. If us helping hospitals, schools, building roads and giving water to needy Gambians is a violation of an act then we will continue to violate that act.
“I have recordings of my speeches and people are welcome to listen to them at any time to see whether I have ever said in the Lower River Region (LRR) that Fulas should rally behind GDC. If I wanted to fan tribalism, then I would have gone to Fulladou not in LRR.
I think Mamah Kandah must be heard.
30 years PPP
22 years APRC
)))) UDP ???
Mike, i agree with you Mama Kandeh should be heard but at the courts if he has evidence to prove election irregularities. The media can only report but not solve his concerns. Why didn’t he raise these issues with the IEC during the campaign period? Was it because he was confident of victory then and is now shocked at the outcome of the results? I won’t say that there was zero irregularities in the elections but i think it is about time that our politicians follow procedures in place to make complaints than making accusations in the media and expect people to believe whatever they say to be true. I think UDP won more seats because they were effective on the ground whilst Mama Kandeh and the others were being deceived by some media outlets and commentators against UDP that their parties will make huge gains. We have seen one such commentary here on Jollofnews by MBO Gaye. What Mama Kandeh and such commentators failed to understand was that APRC was a bubble created by Yahya and with him out of the picture the bubble burst. Most people have been voting APRC and voted for Yahya in the presidential elections because they fear the consequences of not doing so. Mama Kandeh has been counting those votes as genuine APRC votes and was hoping that he can attract those voters but the fact is he was relying on unrealistic figures. Anyone with evidence should go to the courts.
Mama kankandeh is confused and is being sponsored by Yaya jammeh. Their planned has failed, yaya paid for Mama to contest elections but now that they’ve all failed, all wwhat’s left of them is talking crap and nonsense. When did he start to help the poor and needy, people llike Mama are selfish and only care about themselves. You contested elections and loSt, just shut your big mouth and help the gogovernment to move the country forward. Elections are long over let’s move on, comodities such as rice, sugar and many other stuffs should be reduced so that the aaverage Gambians an afford it. Stop the bickering and let’s work
@ Mose= I agree with you, prices of basic food commodities are too high in The Gambia, just look at the price of bag of rice and a loaf of bread, this is outrageous. If we don’t try hard to developed our traditional agriculture and reject the exploitative Liberalized Agricultural Trading, prices of basic commodities will keep going high. Let’s try and safe ourselves from the World Bank/IMF exploitative loans and Structural Adjustment and their connection with these Liberalized Trading….very bad.
When is gambia going to grow up. Bickering when things don’t go their way ,accusations of cheating etc… stop it and grow up..
I think Mammah Kandeh knows very well what he’s saying , and just false comments about Gde financial issues, there are too many businesses mans in The GDP so the money is there not from Jammeh .
Well my friends; Your wonderful new “coalition” has started where Jammeh left off. 25million from the Islamic bank; Your precious marriage of inconvenience should now be able to pay there salaries and massive weekly bill at Gambia’s best hotel. Meanwhile your complaining of starvation and your youth are being deported on mass from Britain. Jirri jeff to the new rich in town, am so sorry for the poor the mislead and the disenfranchised.
Am really surprised Demba Jawo and Mai Fatty and OJ are sitting at this table feasting, but so glad the real man of principal Halifa Sallah would rather eat benachin alone with his books and clear conscience. Next stop the IMF and de american world bank and de EU.
Bravo Mamma Kandeh and Freedom Newspaper;
The struggle for the people continues.
It is just a Mamma’s mammoth heap of crap. His claims above are purely tired pessimistic ones. It’s all a distraction from the secret mass graves being discovered these days.
Genuine criticism is what really counts at this point in time not shows of blues.
Well Mama Kandeh has the right to contest results in the court of law if he believe that the elections was constitutional violated, as any other gambian you should conceded defeated otherwise, you should come with a very strong evidence to proof irregularities. We must not under mind the process of democracy.
That is exactly the reason of his blues show; to test if the new found democracy can be undermined.
The media cannot be his trial venue for this matter. He’ll not get any type of legal response via media other than opinion and news related to his claims.
Well his allegations were directed at President Barrow and not against the actual conduct of the election in other words not against IEC. I am curious to know what the constitutional court would say about the role of the president in a election period. In the constitution itself there is no such thing as the neutrality of the president during elections. The presidency itself is an elective office.
Beside that, I find it intriguing that Kandeh came up with such narrative even though the president’s own constituency went to GDC! One wonders why UDP candidate lost to GDC in Jimara!
Buba ; I always respect and admire your contributions to democracy.
I Made my concerns in the right way through my Torchlight piece several days ago/ But the editors for whatever reason have decided NOT TO PRINT.
My analysis goes to the heart of the matter and raises several issues taken from all the mainstream online papers.
I am only reflecting your concerns.
This is your democracy not mine.
Keep your opinions coming/ You are the benchmark and I trust your opinion as others do.
Mike, you are as much a Gambian as any of us. Your concern and interest in Gambia is enough to qualify us as a Gambian. Your take on issues in the Gambia are always welcome.
Buba; My honorary citizenship counts for me a lot.
If GDC Mr Kandah’s party could only afford to yield 14 candidates and get 5 Nams Would he fielded as many as UDP would Kandah have got 20 more seats?
Was this a level playing field ? Or am I seeing this with the wrong pair of spectacles ?
Was this a case of “money talks”
Certainly valid is his evidence that Barrow was not only meeting the people but electioneering for UDP and Darboe/ I agree court is the right avenue/
But does he have the money to pay for an expensive process? Please give me your take.
Should Barrow have said one thing to disguise the other?
It would be helpful to hear those “Barrowgate ” Tapes.
Mike, GDC could have won a lot of seats if they had not been seen by the electorate as APRC in disguise. Remember GDC refused to join the coalition to get rid of Jammeh and that’s where their problems started. It was a wrong political move at the wrong time. Gambians were fed up with Jammeh at that time and wanted to get rid of him so GDC’s decision not to join the coalition was seen by many as a confirmation that the party was sponsored by Jammeh to destabilise the opposition. The fact that Mama Kandeh was an APRC national assembly member in the past did not help him. The coalition has successfully managed to paint GDC as APRC puppet party and UDP has also capitalized well on that narrative. They have managed to convince voters that a vote for GDC is a vote to bring Jammeh back. GDC did not help themselves well by courting and flirting with APRC. I think they honestly think that the people who voted for Jammeh will switch to GDC. But they should have known that that figure is unrealistic because APRC does not have a strong grassroots support. Quite frankly Kandeh would have earned more respect if he had followed the electoral complaints and grievance procedure than running to the media first and crying foul. It has made him look and sound whiny and whinging.
Buba; Yes I have seen that view online.
So what if Mr Kandeh is completely innocent of such allegations?
For example to leave Jammeh’s party and stand against all. Was this not a brave stand ? Considering Barrow fled to Senegal?
Halifa didn’t hand around the coalition for long. Did Mr Kandeh see something dodgy with the coalition? In any case this coalition was what the electorate voted for.
Was it not opportunism on behalf of Darboe to break the coalition and go his own way,?
Barrows speech is immersed as a victory speech for the UDP when his position was to lead the coalition and must honour the none partizan mandate agreed by the coalition.
Kandeh only put up 14 candidates and his percentage of nams gained for a brand new party was excellent. Do you see where I am coming from?
Or do you think my reasoning is flawed?
…and in any case if Jammeh the proxy partner, he had the money to field as many candidates as the UDP/
Your take on the UDP candidates having Mandinka sounding names is interesting. Is the UDP an open party to represent all, or in fact an exclusive Mandinka Party.
You take on my queries please.
Mike, i do not believe that Kandeh was or is a proxy for Jammeh. However in politics if your allow others to define who you are then you will be in big trouble. Kandeh and GDC are in this situation because from the onset they were defined by others as a Jammeh proxy party. It will be hard for him to change that perception. Just as hard as it will be for UDP to change people’s perception that it is a Mandinka party even though that it is a very inclusive party. Perceptions can be hard to change. Mike, UDP candidates have Mandinka sounding surnames, GDC candidates have Fula sounding surnames, PPP candidates have Wollof sounding surnames and APRC candidates have Jola sounding surnames. Therefore if one accuses UDP of being a Mandinka party purely based on the surnames of their candidates then one must apply the same logic to all the other parties. GDC should then be called a Fula party, PPP a Wollof party and APRC a Jola party. Mike the last APRC dominated parliament was not much different to this newly elected one in that majority of the NAMs were Mandinkas. I do not believe for a moment that parties are tribalistic in their selection, i think this patterns emerge because parties select candidates from the communities they are meant to represent to maximize their chance of winning a seat. It is no different in the UK. Most MPs from ethnic minorities are representing areas with large ethnic populations. Mama Kandeh didn’t sense anything dodgy about the coalition, he had just made a political miscalculation and it seems he is still making more. I deeply respect Halifa for not wanting a cabinet post but i do find it odd that no one else from PDOIS has joined the government in any capacity. To me that was the first move which undermines the coalition but because it was done very subtly no one raised an eyebrow. I have had that discussion with Bax before the national assembly elections. We both agreed that it would be good to have competent people in the national assembly but the reality is different. It is all well and good to have people with strong personality and good moral fibre in national assembly but that alone in itself won’t deliver much because the national assembly matters are nothing but a numbers game. The party with numbers hold the cards.
Buba, I hope I am wrong, but I will make a prediction here: This cabinet will collapse much sooner than we expect. You know why, because it is only a “coalition government” in name. The UDP doesn’t see this government as a “coalition government” and soon, very soon, they will begin to make the non UDP cabinet members understand this.
Darboe has indicated that much when he sang,”Lawyer Darboe Yeh Banko Taa” (Lawyer Darboe has taken over the country)
PDOIS’ decline of cabinet positions will be a wisdom that all Gambians will soon see. Mark my “lies” here.
Bax, if the cabinet collapse it won’t surprise me at all and i can understand why that will happened. People can say whatever the like about Ousainou but he cannot be accused of launching a public personal attack on any party leader. He is a shrewed politician who knows how to play the game well. Bax you will agree with me that after OJ’s person public attack on Ousainou, the relationship between the two may have become very frosty. OJ may be right in saying what he said but he said but the manner and place and time he said it was not appropriate in my opinion. It is good to be measured in your utterances and actions if you are a politician more so if those utterances or actions involve a cabinet colleague. Halifa was to reveal to the public that there were issues with regards the tactics to adapt for the elections, but he did so at a press conference and i doubt it if he went around the campaign trail attacking Ousainou. I can see how OJ may see any difference in opinion with Ousainou as an attempt to make him pay for what he said during the campaign. That could be the beginning of the end of PPP in the coalition. As for PDOIS’ decline of cabinet positions i am yet to be convinced that it was the right move and i think the recent national assembly elections have proven me right. Things didn’t work out as everyone has hoped for. I honestly think that PDOIS have to do one of three things or all three things; (1) Change the messenger or (2) Change the message or (3) Change the way the message is delivered. After nearly 30yrs in existence PDOIS is yet to convince more than 7% of the Gambian electorate that they can be trusted with running the affairs of the nation. The party should embark on a real soul searching exercise. Perhaps it is time for change of guards. Bax i nominate you for leadership.
Oh, Buba, I was trying to be diplomatic and avoid mentioning all this!
Buba, I am sure PDOIS will be the first to acknowledge that they still need to do more to convince the voters, but I do not think they need to change the message or their commitment to clean politics. Politicians should not rely on sentiments and loyalties to gain public office, but rather, they should rely on the superiority of the policies and understanding of the complexities of government to win the electorate’s mandate. Changing that politics of deceit and obscurity should be the next stage of our battle for democracy and genuine representation.
Of course with time, the messengers of PDOIS will change (as with any party) and how the message is delivered will also change, as new, effective and modern day forms of information dissemination become available to them.
It’s rather incomprehensible to me that many informed people buy into this narrative that PDOIS’ political message is too complicated for the ordinary people to understand and this is often advanced as the reason for their low share of votes. The reasons advanced, surprisingly, for the impressive performance of the other parties, like UDP and NRP, is that their messages were much understood and received by the voters.
I don’t know about you Buba, but my experience with many voters, when asked about PDOIS, is that they recognise the truth of what they (PDOIS) say, but aren’t committed to voting for them, for one reason or the other. The question then arises: how could the voters recognise the truth of PDOIS’ message, if they don’t understand it ?
I think attributing PDOIS’ low share of votes to a complicated PDOIS message, is a very simplistic and deficient way of analysing, not only the voting trends in The Gambia, but also the corruption within the political system that is derived from our cultural, traditional and religious beliefs and practices, which have, either by design or default, been incorporated into our politics and political system. PDOIS’ departure from this abuse of culture, tradition and religion to gain votes, is the first major obstacle that is inhibiting the party at the polls. Perhaps, when I have time, I will explain a bit more.
In addition to this major obstacle, is the misconceptions that has been planted in the minds of the voters, and PDOIS’ departure from the traditional way of doing politics became the factor that worked most against them and gave this misconceptions “elements of truth”, as far as the ordinary uninformed voters were concerned.
Believe it or not, this misconceptions are still being spread around, as late as this past NA Elections. I heard a UDP member claiming that those farmers who have two cows will lose one to a neighbour who has none, if PDOIS wins elections. Under Jawara, even wives and clothes were to be shared under a PDOIS Government. These are things that poor farmers take very seriously, especially when they come from supposedly educated, serious and highly respected officials or prominent citizens.
Unfortunately, PDOIS hasn’t done enough to combat and dismiss this misconceptions, perhaps, because there are just too many willing to spread these lies around.
Hopefully, a more open society, with a vibrant and free media, where people who make claims are taken to task might usher in a new era of informed politics, which may change the dynamics that determine election results and political representation.
I kindly and humbly decline your nomination.
Bax, my in-law,
1. The cabinet will probably have changes, but it “will not collapse”. I think the following members positions are secure for the next 5 years: Barrow, Tambang-Jallow, Darboe, Touray, Sanneh, Fatty, Jawo, Hamat Bah, OJ, etc.
2. “Lawyer Darboe Yeh Banko Taa” happened because the Dictator made it happen – by killing Sheriff Dibba and the two SOLOs in such a short time and locking up Darboe and his executive. The British Imperialists did exactly the same: every leader they locked-up became a hero for the people and “Yeh Banko Taa” followed: think of Mandela, Kenyatta, Nkrumah, etc, etc. So, really, Darboe’s “Yeh Banko Taa” is not at all unexpected.
3. For 20 years, Halifa Sallah had refused to support a coalition to oust Jammeh because Halifa feared the very reality that exists today: a “Darboe Yeh Banko Taa”. That fear, manifested in the votes in Banjul in last week’s elections is what kept Jammeh in power for so long. Halifa joined the Coalition FINALLY because Jammeh’s BRUTALIY in 2016 angered Gambians so much that they demanded the politicians form a “Coalition to OUST JAMMEH” – and usher in a democratic dispensation … which has, THANK GOD, happened.
4. Halifa decided NOT to join the cabinet because he wanted the powerful position of Speaker. If the Coalition had held together for the parliamentary elections that might have been possible – and as Speaker Halifa would have been able to PREVENT “a Darboe Yeh Banko Taa”.
5. But Darboe knows Halifa very well, and took UDP on an independent electoral path and won handsomely – leaving Halifa in the WILDERNESS (where I suspect Halifa has always been comfortable!).
6. Gambia is now a democratic and peaceful country with a free press – let us all be thankful for that.
That is not a fair assessment of what happened in Gambia.
-Darboe’s insistence on a UDP party led coalition, with the UDP Leader as the automatic flag bearer, as opposed to Halifa’s independent led, with an elected flag bearer, was what prevented the coalition happening all those years.
– Halifa knows who can be Speaker. He chose the elected route to NA, which disqualifies him from the position, even if they contested as coalitions independents.
-I am tempted to agree with your take that cabinet may change but not collapse. However, if it becomes 99.99% UDP, then we can say that the “coalition” cabinet has collapsed, can’t we ?
– One of the many advantages of the independent approach would have been giving each party a seat in the NA, since it was a collective effort that brought the change. Unfortunately, we have some members of the coalition without a single seat in the NA, and if they were to lose their cabinet representation, then their rewards will be really questionable.
The english tradition is to always support the underdogs/ You see it in politics and sport. Very often I support Scotland against England or say Tranmere rovers against my team Man Utd when in the FA Cup.
You may recall I was GRTS presenting a 2/3rd replica of our FA Cup and £2000 to get your version of it underway. Unfortunately The cup was to do something else and the money ??? And I got ManUtd to first present the Cup at OLd Trafford the day George Best had his liver transplant. I was on Man Utd TV extolling George as the greatest ever British soccer player. Memories.
Yes Ok I can see where your coming from. I am always looking for good insight/ but my opinion about Mr Kandeh remains undiminished.
The next three years will see if this coalition will do the job it was mandated for. I think already there are too many questions. Good Man !!!
Mike, Kandeh can make GDC a formidable opposition to UDP. All he had to do is avoid making the same political miscalculations he had done so far. He should act like a true statesman just like he did during the political impasse. If he had gathered all the evidence he alleged to have regarding election irregularities and present it to the chairman of IEC and then answer questions when asked by journalist things would have gone differently. Instead of putting his case before the court of public opinion he should have taken it to the law courts. When you put your case before the court of public opinion you loose control of the narrative. It seems UDP is the only party that understands this principle because their leadership have not made any attack on any party or party leader in the media. They let the other parties attack them then they play the underdog card. And guess what? it has worked well for them.
Mama Kandeh said he has written to both the IEC and the President, expressing his concerns.
He is also alluding to certain underhand activities that impacted on his support base.
He has also queried the use of campaign material which misled the electorate.
He convened a press conference to address an issue of public concern. Obviously, he had to give one or two examples of why he was rejecting the results, but his evidence should be reserved for the courts.
So let’s wait and see what he has to prove his allegations. And let’s all accept that he has a right to reject and contest the results.
Buba;
I agree 100% with your reasoning. Mr Kandeh may well have opinions and explanations we don’t yet know about. Was he hoping to take the APRC voters to a better place and has he had some success?
Inexperience can hinder progress, but once he has served his time losing, he will learn how to win.
I still have questions on the coalition as it favoured massively Mr Darboe, whilst others faired very poorly. Poor wages indeed for the removal of tyrant Jammeh.
Politics are very inconsolable when the electorate turns away from your grasp. Same with business.
I spent 46 years wishing to be successful with so many failures until one day and against all odds, what to do came so easily I used to pinch myself every night wondering if all that money was a dream and did I deserve it/
Sometimes we have face defeat to really appreciate success.
God bless You my friend.
Mike…
Mama Kandeh was a blessing in disguise for the opposition. Without Mr Kandeh, would those hard-core APRC voters, who moved with him, have voted for the coalition or stayed with Jammeh? I think I know where I will place my bet.
And with only a victory margin of 18000 votes, I think we should be applauding Mr Kandeh for weakening the APRC ; not damning him for not joining the coalition.
Bax.
You are above most and though I know you are disappointed at Halifa’s sorry sad dismay. I know you will find your way home to see the light.
Halifa is the best President Gambia never had.
Remain objective and all will surely come your way. May God grant you a position when you can say…”I told you so”
Bax’ as always you see my point while others see only fairy dust; and a hope and prayer of a government job.