As
we go to the polls on Thursday December 1, let’s cherish peace and ensure
justice.
With
just two days to the polls, and with public political campaign to wrap up today
29 November, the political momentum in the country has continued to simmer as
candidates in the 1st December presidential election continue to crisscross the
country canvassing for votes.
In
this atmosphere of political activities, we reiterate our call for a peaceful
and just electoral exercise under the watch and fair play of the electoral
commission.
This
is because peace starts with fairness and justice, so these virtues must be
maintained in officiating or overseeing electoral matters in this country.
We
are, however, calling on all and sundry to cherish peace and tranquillity, and
eschew violence and hatred.
Violence
and hatred should have no place in modern day electioneering. The
just-concluded US election is a case in point in terms of non-violence and
protection of the national interest.
The
Gambia needs continual progress, growth and development in all facets of life.
And the people will surely decide, at the outcome of their votes, with whom
they would entrust the responsibility of manning the affairs of state to
address such national issues as economic
development, industrialisation, job creation, electricity and water supplies,
provision of quality and affordable education, food and health, foreign
exchange rate and inflation, housing and road rehabilitation, poverty
alleviation, human rights and democracy, freedom of association and expression,
press freedom, international relations, and good governance.
These
are among the burning issues at play in the hearts and minds of the people of
this country.
And
so these are the heart cries the people want addressed, so that abject poverty,
school dropout, teenage pregnancy, alcoholism and drug addiction, back-way or
illegal migration, and misery can be put under arrest.
“We
seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom”
Dwight
D. Eisenhower
