Area Council Elections Were A Total Failure

By Mathew K. Jallow, Associate Editor

Associate Editor Mathew K. Jallow 

The results of the recently concluded Area Council elections across the country seem to provide the clearest indication of the unraveling and floundering of the Yahya Jammeh enigma. However, rather than look at the elections from a prism of objectivity, The Daily Observer and The Independent Electoral Commission, combined voices in an apparently florid and ephemeral editorializing of the voter apathy that has gripped Gambians over the past several election cycles. Whether this posturing is the result of the esoteric nature of Gambia’s currently unsettling political landscape or to selective memories prone to the alacrity to extenuate the Jammeh train-wreck of a government remains to be seen. What is clear is that there is no longer a willingness to speak truth to power, and the regime’s paranoia and its indifference to the suffering of the citizens, combine to create a perfect nexus for the growth of intolerance to criticism and acceptance of the ongoing brutality towards our countrymen. This is seen as the only sure way to achieve social and political control and harmony, and in the regime’s abstruse thinking, the high-handed methods being employed remain the only sure means to maintain power. As long as the regime feels threatened by the economic debacle and the ever-growing social decadence, Yahya Jammeh will continue to tighten the stranglehold on the social and political life in the country. But, by ascribing success to this past elections, The Daily Observer and IEC are dancing appeasement to the tunes coming out of The State House, both out of fear and selfishness. The reality of the voters’ motives and the way the election process and its results are being erroneously interpreted, is designed to blunt the regime’s failure to intimidate our people into the voting booths. This is yet one more proof that the regime’s asperity and its use of tactics antithetical to civilized human behavior, have failed to intimidate and plant fear in the hearts and minds of many of our countrymen. A careful look at the election results around the country suggest that the voter apathy is real, and that despite the threats and bribes, Jammeh is not gaining in popularity, rather, his numbers are continuing to slide downhill as his regime clings ever so precariously to power. One of the other most impressive lessons to come out of the recent elections is the determination and the resolve of the independent candidates who showed guts and resolve to remain defiant in the face of the threats coming out of State House. In the municipal elections results themselves, the very low voter turnout speaks to the nascent, but growing rejection of the obsequious attitude and perfunctory behavior that has until now characterized Gambian society over the past decade. The greatest challenge for us remains the rejection of the regimes resolve and determination to trample upon our rights in an effort secure compliance by creating a nation of docile and subservient population. In terms of the elections themselves, the results speak for themselves as the statistical analysis below indicates. Of the 670,336 registered voters in the country, only a little over 101,000 bothered to cast their votes in this recently concluded elections. In effect, only one in six cast their votes, and this means that the total number of votes cast in the country is far less than the 117,324 combined registered voters in the Kanifing Municipal Council and Lower River Division. In the Kanifing Municipal Council, the total voter turnout of 27, 485, represents only a third of registered voters, which stands at 81,564. In Banjul, the results were not much better, with only 5707 votes cast out of a total 11,984-registered voters. Elsewhere around the country, the decline in the number of voters is more pronounced as election observers lament the poor voter turnout. With elections seen as a farce designed to hoodwink the international community, the majority of Gambians wallowing in penury are well aware that the regime does not speak to their needs nor does it care about their predicament. In one of its post elections editorials, The Daily Observer questioned where the opposition stood with regards to the hearts and minds of the population. It is ironic for a newspaper that touts freedom and democracy to suggest the redundancy of political parties and by extension, the creation of a single party regime. Moreover, the Managing Director of The Daily Observer, Ethiopian born Dinga Halaku, wrote an editorial entitled “Jammeh The Builder”, which is a statement completely at variance with the reality, but as a foreigner, Mr. Halaku has no other way out other than to be one of Yahya Jammeh’s many praise singers. If Mr. Halaku could read the minds of the people who work under him, he will realize that they are not where he is in terms of what he thinks a bout Yahya Jammeh. In fact, Dinga Halaku’s article should have more appropriately been entitled “Jammeh The Killer”. Moving on. Now, no matter how one looks at it, the elections were a total failure, and if the trend continues, elections will be a thing of the past as long as Jammeh remains in power. This poor voter turnout is a serious political statement directed towards Yahya Jammeh, and speaks to the aspiration of the people to rid themselves of this corrupt and murderous regime. The failure of the Area Council elections also portends serious governance problems for a regime that is invested in recidivism to maintain and exercise power and authority over its people. Describing the elections as a resounding success, as the National Youth Council election observers did recently, is not only a deliberate over-statement of the facts, it was a blatant lie that did not need to be told as the numbers speak for themselves. By looking at the results alone, it is crystal clear that the elections were an abysmal failure, and any description that does not portray this fact, is an insult to our intelligence. The Gambian population did a good job of staying away from the pools despite the best efforts of Yahya Jammeh and his cronies, and no amount of propaganda or spin will change that fact. But, for this regime, the worst is yet to come.