Foroyaa has received an invitation to send a reporter to cover the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding establishing a United Front of opposition parties to be held at the Atlantic Hotel in Banjul on Saturday 29th October 2011. This letter therefore confirms that those parties which support a convention have finally reached an agreement. What the Memorandum of Understanding contains will be known by our readers next Monday. Foroyaa will serialize it for the benefit of our readers. The 2011 election is beginning to come with its surprises. First the opposition was conceived to be dead. The APRC utilised the provincial tour of the President as an election campaign which was broadcast both by Radio and television for weeks. They made sure that each week came with its own activity. There was no sign of the opposition on state radio and television until the IEC arranged for a TV programme to sensitise the public on multiple registration and the need for those who did so to return their cards. It was in September that rumours began to spread that opposition parties were meeting to discuss about the formation of an alliance. The women groups of the different opposition parties formed a main pressure group to visit party executive Committee members especially the Secretary General of parties to promote the creation of a United Front. The talks ended on 14th October 2011 and most of the reports in the media concluded that the talks initiated by the UDP had collapsed. Others claim that the talks split into two camps, that is, the camp that supports a UDP led alliance comprising the UDP and the PPP, and the camp that supports the holding of a convention to select a flag bearer, that is, GMC, GPDP, NADD, NRP and PDOIS. Recently questions have been raised whether GMC is still a member. Some people have also said that the NRP shall never be part of a convention. On Saturday it will be clear who is or is not part of the United Front. Apparently Gambia is poised to have the most unpredictable election process that the country has ever held. No wonder foreign observers have started to conduct their pre-election observations and monitoring. The Common Wealth has done theirs. ECOWAS is on the way. Each Gambian should now be ready to make his or her vote count.
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Posted - 28 Oct 2011 : 17:06:18
