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Momodou
Denmark
11634 Posts |
 Posted - 31 Jul 2012 : 13:26:41
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Halifa Sallah says change is inevitable
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
 The Secretary General of the opposition Peoples Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), who is also the spokesperson of the Group of Six opposition parties, has told The Point in an exclusive interview that change is inevitable in all republics where power is owned by the people.
“Parties will come and go, and leaders will come and go. What is important is the historical record they leave behind for posterity. That is what should be of concern to every political leader,” Halifa Sallah told The Point.
In Sallah’s view, after 42 years of Republican existence, many Gambians are yet to truly realise and show that sovereignty resides in them; that their vote is their power and voice to state and dictate who governs their country and how.
“They are the architects of their destiny, and should never fold their hands and appear helpless. Once they are aware, wise and honest enough to make informed choice they will be the architects of a destiny of liberty, dignity and prosperity,” he said.
On comments by one-time opposition strongman Lamin Waa Juwara that opposition parties are dead, Halifa responded that the future of political parties depends on the parties themselves, and that such opinions are not relevant in politics.
“Those that aim to defend the needs and aspirations of the people will survive, and those that cannot will disappear. However, the survival or disappearance of political parties does not legitimize a life presidency,” he stated.
According to Sallah, governance is not centrally a party issue even though parties could be incidental to it.
“Republican constitutions do not recognise party governments. They only recognise executive governments. The executive could stand on a party ticket or an Independent ticket. Once elected he or she could draw a cabinet from party members, form coalition governments from members of different parties like in Senegal or appoint independent personalities,” Sallah opined.
He added: “In fact, Juwara himself is recruited from outside the APRC. Hence, who is to be the next President of The Gambia has nothing to do with the survival or non survival of a political party.
“I would have thought that Lamin Juwara would have been promoting a two-term limit and would be advising President Jammeh that, since he would be in office for 22 years by the end of his term, he should now agree to constitutional reforms like Mugabe to introduce a two-term limit, and the second round of voting in the absence of 50 percent majority in the first round, and then announce that he would not seek another term, but would preside over genuine elections.
He noted that it is an exercise in futility to become a soothsayer who predicts when parties will disappear and leave the scene for the self-perpetuating rule of the APRC to prevail.
The lessons of the March 29th polls, he added, should have been instructive to Juwara and the APRC on what the future holds, noting that the facts reveal that the number of registered voters in The Gambia is 796,929.
“There are 48 constituencies in the country. 25 constituencies went uncontested. There are 308,489 registered voters in the 23 constituencies where elections were conducted, but only 154,950 persons voted. Out of those who voted in the 23 constituencies the APRC had only 80,289 votes which amounts to 51.82 percent and resulted in 18 contested seats.
“NRP contested in 8 seats and had 14,606 votes, which is translated into 9.43 percent and one elected seat. The Independent Candidates had 60,055 or 38.76 percent of the votes cast and four seats. If one combines the votes that were cast for candidates opposed to the APRC, they add up to little more than 74,000 votes. This is approximately 5000 votes less than the total votes attained by the APRC,” he explained.
Sallah noted that despite the threats issued by the President over the national TV and radio, the APRC had a marginal lead in the popular vote of less than 6000 votes.
“In Lower Fuladu West four candidates stood and the Independent candidate won,” he said, adding that this confirms that with a level ground for multi-party contest, the APRC would end up being a minority party.
In his view, Juwara should not focus on Sidia Jatta’s seat in Wuli or the opposition parties.
“In Niamina Dankunku Constituency from where he hailed, he could not help the APRC to win. Hence the facts do not reveal that the opposition is dying. It reveals that the APRC is losing popularity. He should not substitute facts with fiction.”
Source: The Point
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Nyarikangbanna
United Kingdom
1382 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2012 : 00:09:47
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Ok but is he really the spokesperson of the Group of Six? |
I do not oppose unity but I oppose dumb union. |
Edited by - Nyarikangbanna on 01 Aug 2012 00:11:42 |
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sankalanka
270 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2012 : 02:22:53
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But Nyari, Halifa can be a good spokesperson. He can articulate the views of the group more effectively and convincingly. He is a naturally gifted orator, very conversant with the dynamics of our politics, and can guide and influence public opinion in favor of the opposition. This innate characteristic make him appealing to any group venture, and he always appears to be the dominant force even whereas he wants to take a backseat.
And there is one other thing that Halifa does very well: he is an astute thinker. He thinks outside the box. Not only does he examines a political situation and expose its deficiencies, but he also offers alternative solutions to remedy that deficiency. He is a realist and a pragmatist. Nowhere is this evident, although you can find it in his numerous statements and writings, than in these remarks:
"...would have been promoting a two-term limit and would be advising President Jammeh that, since he would be in office for 22 years by the end of his term, he should now agree to constitutional reforms like Mugabe to introduce a two-term limit, and the second round voting in the absence of 50 percent majority in the first round, and then announce that he would not seek another term, but would preside over genuine elections" Herein lies Gambia's political solution".
In my opinion, this would be the best solution to Gambia's political situation. The nature of our political culture does not allow an opposition to win a presidential election; and the only other time this spell has been broken was through a coup.
Therefore, it is a great necessity, and of the utmost importance, that people of goodwill, of good character, intellect, a sense of purpose, should emerge from all sectors of our polity to pursue this very noble objective.
Nyari, give Halifa the benefit of the doubt. He is a very good man.
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Momodou
Denmark
11634 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2012 : 07:22:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Nyarikangbanna
Ok but is he really the spokesperson of the Group of Six?
Nyari, That was written by the journalist but it could also be true that he is. However, I don’t see anywhere Halifa claiming to be a spokesperson for any group in this interview. In my opinion, it wouldn’t be bad if he was the spokesperson of the “Group of Six”. 
Do you have any information on who the spokesperson is?
By the way, it’s good to see you back.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 01 Aug 2012 : 18:30:22
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IN TERMS OF "SPOKESMAN", HOW GROUP OF 6 STARTED AND WHO IS WHO FROM RELATED BANTABA TOPICS
quote:
"Reading out the joint statement on behalf of the combined opposition parties, Halifa Sallah disclosed ..."
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Edited by - kobo on 01 Aug 2012 18:32:06 |
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ylowe
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2012 : 00:40:28
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| Halifa can still run for the office of the presidency cause he is still young,lol. |
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Nyarikangbanna
United Kingdom
1382 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2012 : 01:38:17
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| Going by the present constitution, 2016 is his last chance. I would love to see him contest again so that we can record yet another 3% in his bio. |
I do not oppose unity but I oppose dumb union. |
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Nyarikangbanna
United Kingdom
1382 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2012 : 01:40:30
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I was only asking a question, Momodou.
By the way, thanks for having me back. |
I do not oppose unity but I oppose dumb union. |
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Nyarikangbanna
United Kingdom
1382 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2012 : 01:47:57
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quote:
Originally posted by sankalanka
But Nyari, Halifa can be a good spokesperson. He can articulate the views of the group more effectively and convincingly. He is a naturally gifted orator, very conversant with the dynamics of our politics, and can guide and influence public opinion in favor of the opposition. This innate characteristic make him appealing to any group venture, and he always appears to be the dominant force even whereas he wants to take a backseat.
And there is one other thing that Halifa does very well: he is an astute thinker. He thinks outside the box. Not only does he examines a political situation and expose its deficiencies, but he also offers alternative solutions to remedy that deficiency. He is a realist and a pragmatist. Nowhere is this evident, although you can find it in his numerous statements and writings, than in these remarks:
"...would have been promoting a two-term limit and would be advising President Jammeh that, since he would be in office for 22 years by the end of his term, he should now agree to constitutional reforms like Mugabe to introduce a two-term limit, and the second round voting in the absence of 50 percent majority in the first round, and then announce that he would not seek another term, but would preside over genuine elections" Herein lies Gambia's political solution".
In my opinion, this would be the best solution to Gambia's political situation. The nature of our political culture does not allow an opposition to win a presidential election; and the only other time this spell has been broken was through a coup.
Therefore, it is a great necessity, and of the utmost importance, that people of goodwill, of good character, intellect, a sense of purpose, should emerge from all sectors of our polity to pursue this very noble objective.
Nyari, give Halifa the benefit of the doubt. He is a very good man.
I disagree. Sankalan. Let Halifa gives us a break. |
I do not oppose unity but I oppose dumb union. |
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sankalanka
270 Posts |
Posted - 02 Aug 2012 : 05:45:54
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Nyari, what do you disagree with?
I said that Halifa is a naturally gifted orator. He is an astute thinker. He is a realist and a pragmatist. He is a good spokesperson who can articulate views more effectively and convincingly. And he is also very conversant with the dynamics of our politics.
Can you please give me the reasons if you disagree with any of the points noted. And I will give you reasons why you should not disagree. Notwithstanding, that you have the right to your opinion. You don't even have to give any reasons for your disagreement.
However, I think it would be helpful, since Halifa is a very public person, and could very well someday be at the helm to steer our ship of state, that we should do justice to him whenever we talk about him, to look at his political contribution in its entirety for the last two decades and more. I will be more than willing to engage you in this discuss.
The options that are available for the 2016 presidential elections are there. We need to examine them critically; and we should start it now. There should be a determined and conscious effort to guide the Gambia's political narrative to 2016 and beyond.
Good to hear from you since after the presidential elections.
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