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Dalton1
3485 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Mar 2011 : 15:35:25
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Hon Sallah on Voters' Cards
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/voters-card-symbolizes-sovereignty-of-citizens-halifa-sallah
Dear Halifa,
I hope you are going to read this short e-mail. Coming this far, and so close to presidential elections, I hope all of you (as the opposition) will at once get-together and close the chapter that hasn't helped us. You once again as always addressed this issue of the voters' cards well, but I am of the belief that while it is true that the voters' card determines all that, in our current predicament, it has to backed by a coalition of the opposition. It is really unfortunate until now it hasn't been any tangible. Without a coalition of the opposition, the voters' card might not fulfill its purpose in our case, because then we will be faced with both voter apathy and divided votes.
Kind Regards,
Yero (Minnesota)
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"There is no god but Allah (SWT); and Muhammad (SAW)is His last messenger." shahadah. Fear & Worship Allah (SWT) Alone! (:
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2011 : 09:51:01
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Dalton 1 PLEASE REVISIT THESE STATEMENTS ON FULL TEXT OF PDOIS PRESS RELEASE, BEFORE I COME BACK TO MAKE COMMENTS ON YOUR LETTER ABOVE; ADDRESSED TO HALIFA SALLAH 
Foroyaa on-line news National News : PDOIS´STATEMENT ON ITS SENSITISATION CAMPAIGN under http://www.foroyaa.gm/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6504
FULL FOROYAA TEXT FOLLOWS BELOW:
27 March 2011
"Issued by Halifa Sallah
Political parties are instruments of political leadership and governance. We have heard remarks by the head of state about countries in which ruling and opposition parties combat each other during elections and then collaborate after elections to mange the affairs of a state. This gives the impression that every ruling party is committed to the formulation of the policies, priorities, programmes and projects that are required to make a people free, dignified and prosperous. It also implies that every opposition party has the same policies, programmes, priorities and plans.
In our view coalitions to contest elections and coalition governments are ideal if they serve the interest of the people. However this does not negate the fact that every political party should have clear civil, political, economic, social and cultural policies and programmes that are known to the people irrespective of what links or alliances it establishes with other political parties. A genuine political party has the duty to put its policies before the people at all times and to implement them if it is given the mandate to manage the affairs of a country. A genuine multi party system should be characterised by debates between political parties on fundamental differences in policies and implementation strategies. This is what enables the masses to determine whether a ruling party is fit to govern or an opposition party is fit to replace it. It is therefore revealing that the APRC leadership conceives this systematic scrutiny of their mistaken policies and institutional practices as war. The struggle between divergent views and their amplification in the public domain is the highest expression of a democratic system of Governance.
This is why PDOIS addresses all issues of fundamental importance through the periodic issuing of Policy statements.
The objective of this Press conference is to inform the Media the efforts we have made to prepare the Gambian people for the coming electoral cycle which is the most decisive period in Gambian history. First and foremost, we have made it abundantly clear to the Gambian people that the supreme duty of every political party in a sovereign Republic is not to usurp the power of the people and become a ruler over them but to empower them so that it could lead based on their consent. We have made it clear that no one in the PDOIS leadership is hungry for power or has the mentality that it is a divine right to rule over Gambians. Each PDOIS member has the supreme duty to empower the people and present the party as an instrument of service that is willing to do anything that would enhance the liberty and prosperity of the people. This is precisely why we launched three initiatives on the ground to ensure an effective and sustainable sensitisation campaign.
The first initiative is to commission regional and local party activists to conduct sensitisation activities in their respective areas.
The second initiative was followed by the establishment of a mobile unit to conduct nationwide sensitisation campaign. This unit has covered the whole country in the first phase of its operation and has already started the second phase. They visited 93 villages in the North Bank, from the 23 rd of January to 4th February. The tour covered villages extending from Barra to Wuli.The tour party has also covered 46 villages in kiang and Jarra in the South Bank from the 3 rd to the 10th March. A new schedule has been prepared to cover villages between Niamina and Koina to finish the Southern part of the Country.
The third initiative is to hold two rallies in URR and CRR so that the people would have direct access to the leadership and raise the vital concerns they have. The rallies held in Kaur and Sami Pachonki in the CRR were attended by people with all shades of opinions. Mr Omar Fatty who is in his fifties opened the meeting in Kaur Wharftown. Omar Manneh introduced the speakers in wolof. .Suwaibou Touray added his voice in Mandinka. Halifa Sallah spoke in Wollof, Sidai Jatta, a NADD National Assembly member spoke in Mandinka, Pateh Baldeh spoke in Fula. This was followed by comments and questions from all shades of the political spectrum.
The last person to speak at the Kaur meeting was a prominent NRP elder who told the crowd that every word that had been uttered is the truth and nothing but the truth. He challenged everyone to make use of the knowledge they had acquired and expressed appreciation for the time devoted to the answering of all their questions to their satisfaction.
The Sami Pachonki meeting was attended by most residents of the village, male and female. It was a short meeting due to the fact that a religious ceremony was taking place during the time allocated for our meeting. We decided not to exercise our right to hold the meeting in order to show respect to people’s beliefs. We provided a token sum to support their activities and conveyed our views that we would wait until they were ready to start our meeting. This left a deep impression among the participants.
The meeting was opened by a 90 year old PDOIS Chairman in Sami Pachoki,, Pa Sankareh. His message made many eyes to water as he explained his consistency as a PDOIS activist since the 1980s. He thanked the people for attending in their large numbers and asked them to listen attentively to the messages delivered. Mali Ceesay opened the meeting in Mandinka, Halifa Sallah and Sidia Jatta both delivered their messages in Mandinka. The meeting was closed by Alhaji Soriba Ceesay , an elder who has been a supporter of the UDP and now supports agenda 2011 and wanted to speak lengthily on the Agenda if time permitted him to elaborate.Other UDP elders like Mamudou Sisawo who support agenda 2011 also requested to speak but could not do so because of the elapsing of the time allocated for the use of the public address system. He will be given the opportunity to speak his mind whenever we have a meeting in Sami. PDOIS is planning to honour Pa Sankareh while he is still with us.
We traveled from Sami through Sandu to get to Sutukonding where a large welcoming party was waiting for us at the outskirts of the village. We cancelled the meeting of the 12 of March because of wrong announcement. We held the SutuKonding meeting on 22 nd March and the SutuKoba Meeting on 23 rd March 2011. The village bantaba was full to capacity and The Chairman Jambo Camara opened the SutuKonding meeting. Alhaji Demba Sisawo, who is in his 80s opened the meeting in SutuKoba.
The Key Message
We made it clear to the people that many of them had taken part in a number of referenda before Gambia became a sovereign Republic. We argued that the first phase of our struggle for self determination and Independence is to create the Republic with the national right to sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and a citizenry with national identity. This constitutes the Nationalist Revolution. It was marked by the holding of a referendum for the people to decide whether they should remain under monarchical rule which accords them no powers to elect a king or queen or move to Republic which makes every citizen an equal to the other and empowers each one to have equal power to determine who will manage their affairs. We explained that a monarchy entails rule by coercion while a Republic calls for leadership by consent.
Furthermore, we added that the second phase of our struggle for self determination and Independence is to empower each sovereign person to have equal power and voice to determine how the country is to be governed. This is what encompasses the democratic revolution. This principle of according equal rights to all citizens to determine the destiny of a nation is what has given right to the voting card and ballot tokens as instruments for indicating a person’s consent to be governed by a party or person of one´s choice. The voting card symbolizes the sovereign equality of all citizens irrespective of whether they are president or messenger, doctor or cleaner, civil servant or farmer, man or woman. This voting card and the secrecy associated with the casting of the ballot token creates the Gambian identity of each citizen and asserts its supremacy over a person’s ethno-linguistic, religious, gender, regional and sectarian identity, since that identity alone provides the legal basis of determining the destiny of a nation by electing or being elected by others .A person with a voting card has the power and voice to say who will assume position of authority. This is why those who wish to assume positions to manage the affairs of the country must listen and appeal to such a sovereign voter for support. This is because of the fact that every vote counts and must be counted. This makes each sovereign person relevant and must be taken very seriously. A person without a voting card cannot participate in selecting who is to manage the affairs of a country to ensure liberty and prosperity.
We therefore made it clear that a person without a voting card is a powerless and voiceless person. Such a person is an alien in his or her own country. In the same vein we added that one who sells his or her voting card has sold his or her birth right to a sovereign person with power and voice to elect leaders and scrutinize them during their term of office. Such a person is slave of his or her own making. A person who gives away his voting card has mortgaged his or her birth right to determine the destiny of his or her nation and should not complain when inflicted by poverty and injustice. We made it absolutely clear that the genuine sovereign Gambian is one who would not surrender to any inducement or intimidation in casting his/her ballot but would do so on the basis of information heard and conviction reached that the person he or she is entrusting his or her powers to, will create and implement the policies that would enhance his or her liberty and prosperity. We emphasised that the principal objective of our sensitization campaign is to inspire such a sovereign voter who will never surrender to voter apathy.
We explained that change is possible in the fourth coming 2011 presidential elections in the Gambia if the people truly want it. We highlighted that the principal objective of our sensitization campaign is to prepare the Gambian people for the forthcoming electoral circle which is the most decisive period in the history of the Gambia
We said that the sovereign Gambian who could bring about change is one whose mind speaks the language of clarity and awareness, whose heart speaks the language of truth and whose conscience speaks the language of justice. We told the people that they could raise questions irrespective of their party affiliation because of our conviction that the expression of divergent views and their amplification in the public domain to enable the sovereign people to separate chaff from grain is the highest expression of a democratic system of government.
We explained that this is precisely the reason why we have been addressing all issues of national importance by issuing statements. We summarized the content of the statements and added that it is the supreme duty of every political party in a sovereign republic not to usurp the power of the people and become a ruler over them but to empower them so that leaders could serve them based on their consent.
We made it categorically clear that that each of us has a supreme duty to empower the people and make our parties instruments of service at the disposal of the people instead of instruments of coercion and self aggrandisement to oppress the people.
In our view a genuine multi party system should be characterized by debates between political parties on fundamental issues where they differ in policies and implementation strategies. This is what enables the masses to determine which ruling party is fit to govern or which opposition party is fit to replace it. We argued that no authority could manage the affairs of this country without the consent of the sovereign citizenry. We therefore showed the electorate how wealth emerges from taxation and non tax revenue derived from payment for public services. We explained that it is the duty of the executive to manage the national budget which is put at 4500 Million Dalasis for 2011. We explained that some members of the ruling party who have been campaigning for Sidia Jatta’s removal by claiming that an opposition MP cannot convince the ruling party to bring development to his or her area are mis-educating the electorate. We asked the people what developments have taken place in Sadu, Wuli East, Kantora, Tumana and even Basse where ruling party MPs exist. We gave the people simple analogies of the proprietor of a shop who audited the accounts of his shopkeeper and found huge shortages. We indicated that it was the shopkeeper who had access to the goods and a night watchman was hired to look after the shop at night which was put under lock and key and had never suffered a break in. We asked the people in Wuli west whether they would have concurred with the shopkeeper if he blamed the watch man for the losses and called for his dismissal. They responded with laughter. We made it very clear that it is the President and the Ministers who are responsible for formulating policies and implementing what is provided for in the budget. The Members of the National Assembly like Sidia do not collect taxes but depend on their salaries and allowances which cannot be compared to those of Ministers who have no constituency responsibilities. We made it clear that the President and the Ministers have access to the taxes, the non tax revenue, Gifts to the Government, loans and grants. If any place is lacking in development in the country they should be held responsible.
We emphasized that the National Assembly members like Sidia are the watch dogs who over see the utilization of National wealth to confirm whether the wealth allocated is being spent accordingly. We emphasized that an effective National Assembly member is one who has the capacity to scrutinize the performance of government and not one who is a praise singer. We emphasised that an economy which could provide more resources to the Government would have to have a productive private sector, productive public sector, productive cooperative sector and a productive informal sector. We explained that the banks are financing government budget deficits and government owes them more than 7 billion dalasis. We argued that all this money could have been invested to promote a productive private sector. We added that GPTC was a productive public enterprise which could have been a source of sovereign national wealth and public sector investment but has been incapacitated. The earning from the new buses it had almost a decade ago could have bought more buses today and generate more employment and infrastructural development.
We added that the cooperative sector could have been relied on in the establishment of village farms to finance village projects. It could also be utilised in the marketing sector by making the cooperative society a democratic institution with an elected executive which would have the right to access world market prices of produce and the administrative costs associated with the buying and transportation of nuts. They would also have bargaining powers in determining the producer prices of products. They could also manage producer prices in such a way that funds could be allocated to buy fertilizer and farming implements and sell them to farmers at subsidized prices.
We indicted that Trade fairs could be organised at weekly market sites o promote the economics of scale and infrastructural development in evolving towns to giv the informal economy a boost.
We also challenged the view that is promoted by the members of the ruling party that some opposition parties do not appreciate anything good that has been done by the ruling party. We took exception to this view. We indicated that the sovereign person cannot ignore what is before his or her eyes but should be able to evaluate how it comes about.
We gave the analogy of a person who gave one million dalasis to a builder to build him/her a house only to be invited later to the inauguration of a hut. We asked what we would say to that person if he/she calls drummers and praise singers at the handing over ceremony to praise the builder. The analogy was received with laughter. We observed that before one could appreciate the efforts of a Government one should first ask how much has come into its coffers by way of revenue from tax and non tax sources, loans, grants and gifts and then evaluate whether the sums could be accounted for in terms of services rendered to improve the quality of life of the people or build infrastructure .
We reminded the people that the destiny of women and the youth are tied together. In short, we informed them that we are concerned that the 300000 students that come out of our school system every 12 years will join the army of the unemployed. We told the women that without the development of the productive base of the economy, young men and women would be without means to help their mothers and fathers or marry wives and husbands. People will continue to be born, grow, live and die in poverty living their children and grandchildren to go through the poverty cycle.
The Agenda for Change
It was made clear to the people that out of the 670336 voters 405932 voters did not vote for President Jammeh in the 2006 Presidential election and 542055 voters did not vote for the opposition. We added that over 270000 voters did not vote at all. We argued that the people who did not vote at all are more than those who voted for President Jammeh, Mr Ousainou Darboe or Halifa Sallah. We explained that the combined votes of the UDP and NRP did not help them to even get the number of votes the UDP alone had in 2001.We added that the combined votes of UDP and NADD in 2006 could not have enabled the two to win the presidential elections. We argued that if we want victory in 2011, we should try to find out who did not vote since they could enable any side to win elections. We indicated to them that if all political aspirants rely on ethno linguistic loyalties we will have a divided nation that will be difficult to change for the better. We made it clear that change could be guaranteed if all those who want change make it their task to campaign for Gambians to utilise the 2011 Presidential elections to restore the sense of ownership of the country by the sovereign people. We indicated that while it would be difficult to combat voter apathy by promoting a given party or person we could put voter apathy to an end by encouraging each voter who want change to vote at a primary to select one candidate for the opposition whom all will support to stand against President Jammeh on a one to one basis. This person being a non partisan candidate would preside over a coalition government which shall preside over the affairs of the country ,through a transitional arrangement of not more than five years just to consolidate democratic instruments, institutions and practices and free the media to cover divergent party programmes to prepare for free and fair elections. We told them that that was the essence of Agenda 2011.
The people generally received the message with enthusiasm and expressed determination to promote the Agenda.
We therefore called on all those who want Gambia to have a new start that could even teach the people in the Arab world, to embrace Agenda 2011.It will make leaders to become the humble servants of the people and transform the people into the sovereign rulers of their country . This is the verdict of history and political science and it is irrevocable.
Finally it is important to rectify a wrong notion that is being propagated by the APRC leadership. Recently, the president has been reacting to the numerous attempts to get his government to respect the constitution by stating that it is his government which came up with the Constitution while some of those who are quoting the constitution voted against it. The remark of the President certainly does not apply to PDOIS which impacted more on the content of the Constitution than even the AFPRC/ APRC government. The following is an extract from the memorandum we addressed to the Constitutional review commission before they even prepared a draft of what finally became the 1997
constitution:
”First and foremost, when a people come together to prepare a fundamental instrument which shall be an embodiment of their collective will, it is imperative for them to state the precise aims and objectives of their union which shall constitute the foundation on which the letter and spirit of their fundamental law shall rest. This is what is called a preamble. This constitutes the kernel of a republican constitution. The 1970 constitution lacked this kernel. The constitution of the Second Republic therefore needs a preamble to guide its letter and spirit.”
We called for a preamble to the constitution of the Second Republic and it is there. Furthermore the recommendation of the PDOIS leadership on the formulation of the first Chapter of the constitution of the second Republic before it was even drafted is very similar to what is found in the first chapter of the 1997 Constitution. It reads:
“THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Once the purpose of the establishment of the union is declared, a juridical instrument should proceed to establish the union.
Chapter 1 of the 1970 Constitution did establish the foundation of our union. It states:
“ Gambia is a sovereign Republic.”
However, it did not state where sovereignty shall vest nor did it state what sovereignty entails. The constitution of the Second Republic should state where sovereignty shall vest. It should also state what it entails. I therefore recommend the following formulation.
DECLARATION OF THE REPUBLIC
The Gambia is a sovereign Republic. Sovereignty shall vest in the people. The right of the people to determine the political, economic, social and cultural status of the country through their collective will is inviolable.
The unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of the country are inviolable. It is the collective responsibility and the un-relinquishable duty of all Gambians to safeguard the sovereign rights of our country and people.”
Chapter one of the 1997 Constitution has incorporated some of our recommendations. We could go on and on to show how we made recommendations for the establishment of an Independent Electoral Commission and so on and so forth.
The PDOIS leadership constitutes the only political force at the time which produced booklets and utilised private radio stations to enlighten the masses on the provisions of the draft constitution. It was the only political force which put sentiments aside and separated the grain of the constitution from the chaff to conclude that despite all its shortcomings it could serve as a Republican Constitution which could be relied on to Govern the Country until a more democratic government is elected to improve on it.
PDOIS stood for a yes vote because the draft started by establishing the sovereign Republic and adding that “the sovereignty of the Gambia resides in the people of the Gambia from whom all organs of government derive their authority and in whose name and for whose welfare and prosperity the powers of government are to be exercised.” The draft included entrenched clauses providing for political rights, a multi party system, and elections every five years. It provided for a National Assembly which could remove a President for violation of the constitution or corrupt practices, one whose members could be recalled by the electorate. It had provisions which enabled the judiciary to declare laws and practices null and void if they contravened provision of the Constitution. It created an Independent electoral Commission. It was clear that it was left to the people to elect the right persons to make the constitution to work to enlarge their liberty and prosperity.
It is important for the APRC leadership to be informed that their July 22 movement in Jarra tried to stop our activists from propagating the Republican and democratic provisions of the draft constitution and gave them a hard time until the PDOIS leadership intervened to overcome the obstacles, since at the time,the movement was in support of a Libyan type of state and was opposed to a multiparty system which had to become entrenched once a yes vote was recorded. We hope the record has been set straight.
One should ask the APRC leadership why it is on an amending spree if the constitution is actually theirs. They amended the provision dealing with chieftaincy elections, the second round of voting, the power of the Independent Electoral Commission to demarcate constituencies without constituting a boundaries Commission. It goes without saying that the original intention was to make elected Chairpersons of area Councils to be the political heads in regions but now they are answerable to the Governors and this undermines the whole decentralization process.
PDOIS has not only propagated the Republican and Democratic provisions of the 1997 constitution but has shown its capacity to be able to improve on such provision to make the people sovereign and free if given the opportunity to lead. We will therefore continue to try to prove that we are fit to manage the affairs of this country to ensure greater liberty in larger prosperity, and much more so than the APRC could create. Agenda 2011 aims to bring everyone on board to give the Gambia a new start. Those who have workable ideas on how to bring about unity for change should put their proposals in the public domain and leave the people to give their verdict. Every Gambian should give support, morally or materially to what is convincing to him or her. Critics who sit on the fence and predict doom and gloom for the opposition are the problems of the nation. They will be indicted by the future generation for knowing what is best but lacked the courage and the sincerity to take a principled stand to give their country the best start it deserves to ensure liberty , dignity and prosperity to all. History shall be our judge.
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