I
would first and foremost seize this opportunity to congratulate and salute the
Coalition on their victory in the historic elections of 1st December 2016. This
victory is a clear testimony of the will of the Gambian people through a free,
fair and transparent election.
The
Gambian people have spoken loud and clear in support of democracy, rule of law,
fair play and justice. I again salute the coalition and indeed the other
opposition party, the GDC, for their steadfastness to effect a change of
government through peaceful means. You have certainly rekindled our hopes and
aspirations and brought in a new dawn of freedom, justice and democracy. There
is no substitute for these indispensable elements and certainly they are
sacrosanct and non-negotiable.
The
election was hailed by Gambians both at home and abroad, including the outgoing
President and the entire International Community as absolutely free, fair and
transparent, with the declaration of Mr. Adama Barrow of the opposition
coalition as President –Elect. The outgoing President in a show of magnanimity
congratulated the President-Elect on his victory and promised to give him all
the support necessary for a peaceful transfer of power and to provide further
advisory services on the request of the President-Elect when needed.
This
magnanimous gesture from the out-going President was widely hailed and
acknowledged throughout the world. This excellent demerge was however marred by the unexpected
U-Turn of the out-going President to reject the results lock stock and barrel
citing yet unsubstantiated irregularities
and unilaterally annulling the
elections, requesting the country to go back to the polls and according to him
under a ‘’God fearing IEC.’’ This unexpected U-Turn catapulted the country to
the current political crisis. Defusing the political tensions has preoccupied
all Gambians and the International Community in a bid to find a lasting
solution to the situation through negations and the peaceful transfer of power.
It
is rather unfortunate that the outgoing President is still adamant not to step
down despite repeated calls for him to do so. President –Elect Adama Barrow has
repeatedly called on the out-going President to open lines of communication, so
that agreements could be reached on a transitional agenda but to no avail.
His party challenged the election results at
the Supreme Court, but the case could not proceed due to lack of quorum and the
case was adjourned until Judges could be made available, perhaps in May 2017.
The bone of contention now is that his party loyalists are drumming the idea of
linking the inauguration of the new President to the outcome of their election
petition and have taken the extra step to seek court injunction to prevent the
inauguration taking place.
What
is interesting is that the APRC and their surrogates have been challenged by
the Coalition to quote the relevant sections of the Constitution that a new
President cannot be sworn into Office pending the outcome of an election
petition. They have not responded to this challenge. The Coalition, on the
other hand, through the Spokesperson, clearly and succinctly quoted the
sections of the Constitution convincingly rebutting this claim from the APRC.
Therefore, the logical conclusion to draw is that the new President should be
inaugurated on the 19th January 2017.
Those
advocating withholding the inauguration pending the outcome of the APRC
election petition must not allow their will to become the lord of their reason.
They must not bury their heads in the sand through repeated denials. Their case
certainly seems to stand on a sandy foundation. WE HAVE CROSSED THE RUBICON! I
equally exercise my democratic rights to appeal to any family member living in
denial, to speedily wake up and join the Noah’s Ark. This is the beauty of
democracy.
I
therefore join the countless voices urging President Yahya Jammeh to accept the
will of the people and peacefully and honorably hand over the baton of power to
his successor. The Gambian People have time without number, appreciated the
numerous infrastructural and other developments registered by the APRC
Government, but the People voted for Change under the banner of FREEDOM.
These
significant developments are important bargaining chips for the out-going
President to use as a platform to negotiate for a peaceful exit. The President
–Elect has set the ball rolling by offering his predecessor certain guarantees
befitting a former Head of State, including personal security, among others.
This is a magnanimous gesture par excellence
I
also congratulate the combined Armed and Security Services for maintaining
peace and stability during these trying times and to further entreat them to
continue this high level of professionalism and regimentation in the protection
of lives and properties and to ensuring civil oversight of the Military in
accordance with the Gambia Armed Forces Act and the Armed Forces Regulations
for Discipline.
LONG
LIVE THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA
Author:
Mr Essa Khan, National and International Consultant, and former Government
Civil Servant
