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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
 Posted - 09 May 2006 : 00:21:09
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you're right.one of the reasons is because tourism/tourist offered a lot of opportunites in the 70s,80s. and also gambians did not need visas to travel before even to UK and Scandinavia.
personally, i have a colleague in Taiwan studying. there are Doctors currently practising in the gambia who studied in Russia during the Soviet days through scholarships. the world is a small place.
no one knows how many gambians are abroad. gambians do not register at their embassies abroad and embassies dont keep registers. but all EU countries know how many there are in each country as they keep statistics. i know for a fact that in spain its about 16,000 (2005) and one would assume similar numbers in UK and Scandinavia respectively. but you have to check the website of all these countries and you will get the figure/sum. for spain the link is below. you can search by nationality and sex and community. its in english.
http://www.ine.es
there are also lots of gambians in other african countries especially in the diamond mines from Sierra Leone to Angola.
gambias abroad will probably never vote as it will be too expensive and they are not concentrated in one place. to vote you need to register your presence abroad in the first place! |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 05:32:01
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| Am just impressed with the interaction and flow of information. Thanks Jede, Gambiabeiv, Rah, Jambo and Njucks as you have set the standards in this topic. |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 08:21:20
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I THINK I read on the link that the only way Gambians abroad can vote is if they fly home.
The government are looking into setting up a system for Gambians abroad to vote.
In Uk people can vote who have lived abroad for many many years...I'm not sure if this is right????
But people studying or working abroad for a limited time should be allowed to vote. |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 09:37:28
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| thank you for that insight to the voting in gambia, can i ask if there will an election this year. wil lit follow the same system. |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 10:15:23
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Jambo
infact there is a by-election tommorow or thurday in Kombo East, (some Km from airport going to the interior). it will follow the same procedure.
in the last election , one of the parties did not participate. this year there are more parties but the procedure will be exactly the same. |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 11:58:29
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| njucks, thanks for the information but why is tomoorow or thursday!?!? surely a date must have been set!?!?. That sounds very dodgy. i trust that you are aware of the situation and can vote when you want, but what about other people who need to know the correct date to make arrangements to vote. or is this me making a situation more complicated. |
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Guest
Gambia
20 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 12:35:26
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quote:
Originally posted by jambo
njucks, thanks for the information but why is tomoorow or thursday!?!? surely a date must have been set!?!?. That sounds very dodgy. i trust that you are aware of the situation and can vote when you want, but what about other people who need to know the correct date to make arrangements to vote. or is this me making a situation more complicated.
Read this topic Jambo http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=788 |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 12:45:07
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its my fault i didnt know the exact date. thats all. but those voting do.
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twinkly
United Kingdom
190 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 13:05:21
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quote:
Originally posted by jambo
it is interesting we talk about voting, here in the west it is an established sytems, might not like it but it is in place.
WHAT ARE THE PEOPLE in gambia for voting for, ie which party, what leader, when, where, how, it is easy to Yaya out, but who is the opposition. On one of my last visits, the opposition parties could not agree on the who was representing them!?!? think USA and democractic they did not have a leader and selected KERRY (who is he). I hope Gambians stop in fighting and selected a representative to go against Yaya
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 21:32:46
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| I presume that there are certain weaknesses,loopholes and malpractices that filter through and sometimes allegations of fraud and not up to the standard of "free and fair" voting system. Njucks, Rah and those with experience of the electoral sytem, can you give us an overview or clue on them if they are known to exist or possible to be seen? |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 21:59:33
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personally i only worked in one election and i think everyone was satisfied with the results. it was the election that ended the transition period.
the entire system is registration, campaign, voting and results. i was only involved in the voting. the maths of elections is tricky. the results are in % and this could be 1000s of people per %. claims for errors can only be meaningful if the results are close to change the result but i think historically the difference have been very large such that they whole excercise is acceptable. a difference between is usually more than 20% points.
i honestly think all the elections have been free and fair and have reflected the will of majority of the people.
i have a good link on elections in the gambia from the 60's.
http://africanelections.tripod.com/gm.html |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 22:20:24
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| Thanks Njuks for the link. It s a very thorough site. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 10:47:41
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| Is is today the elections start, who are the official candidates. I ask because things change overnight in Gambia and someone might have dropped out. |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 23:41:57
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| What about security issues during voter registration, campaigning for political parties,voting day and counts or recounts? Those with experience is there anything we can learn from you? |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 23:56:46
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My concern has been one thing. Almost every election, just few hours before voting ends, there is always an announcement that every one who has a voters card should vote whether they are on the register or not. This has led to cheating.
If the name is not on the register then that should be rectified early enough before the elections.
Infact according to the rules of the elections, even after a supplementary registration, the list of all voters in the constituency or the village should be displayed for possible contentions. Those who have reasons to challenge names on the register can do so.
How come in the last elections, a whole village was not on the register. This happended in Fulladu around Brikama Ba. The Alkalo is also not on the register. This is how non eligible voters sneak in to vote. By allowing these villagers to vote then unscrupulous voters can come in who are issued voters cards after registrations. It becomes too late to verify two hours before the end of polling. I want to believe that this is by design to allow non eligible voters to vote. It happened in 1996 and 2001 and it will happen again this year. For some reason this is always done. Suddenly the long queues get longer. IEC should ensure that all those listed on the roll find their way in the main register. This unfortunately has not beeen possible.
In Africa elections are won before voting through this process. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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