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Momodou
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 Posted - 20 Oct 2007 : 20:24:03
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FOCUS ON POLITICS
1987 GENERAL ELECTIONS OPPOSITION LEADERS LOST THEIR SEATS
With Suwaibou Touray
We have been focusing on politics in this column with the objective of bringing forth the past so as to help our young people especially to learn lessons from it.
We have commenced the narration of events from pre-Colonial to post-independence era.
We have gone far into the narration of events up to the 1987 general elections. We have stopped where we said Mr. Camara also denied being engaged in tribal politics.
Let us continue from where we stopped.
The results of the March presidential and parliamentary elections was announced on the 11th and 12th of March showing the incumbent Alhagie Sir Dawda K. Jawara in the lead.
The PPP also won the parliamentary contest as well. According to the PPP organ, the PPP won in 31 out of the 36 constituencies whilst the incumbent president won the presidential vote in 32 out of the 36 constituencies.
The president got 59% of the votes cast.
According to the Times, the results of the 1987 polls were not much different from other election results in the Gambia since independence in 1965.
According to the Times, the victory by Jawara must have surprised many because as they observed, many did not expect such overwhelming success for the Gambian leader.
They say this is the first time since independence that Jawara was faced with what looked like a formidable challenge from two experienced politicians, i.e. Mr. Sheriff M. Dibba and Mr. Assan Musa Camara who were all his former Vice Presidents and each was leading seemingly well established national parties.
According to the PPP organ, the second reason why many felt that Jawara may not have succeeded the way he did was because Gambians had undergone some harrowing experiences since the 1982 election brought about by an IMF adjustment programme adopted by the Gambia Government.
The Times agreed that the standard of living following the government’s decision to let the Dalasi float as part of the ERP had generally declined. What was however surprising according to the Nation was that in the rural areas where the inhabitants suffer from lack of progress , both socially and economically, the PPP appeared to be constant .
The times which has never spoken like this went on to assert that subsequently there has been more than 100 percent drop in the value of the Dalasi as well as a general rise in the prices of goods and services. Salary increases, according to PPP Times were not also allowed during the ERP period.
As far as the elections were concerned, the PPP organ opined that even though the 1982 elections were conducted under the unusual conditions of state of emergency just after a bloody attempted coup, this year’s elections were held in a quiet atmosphere. During the 1982 elections the leader of the main opposition party NCP, had to contest both the presidential and parliamentary elections while in detention because of allegations of complicity in the failed coup.
According to the opinion of the PPP Times some observers must also have concluded that, having put Jawara in power for 25 years, there was now need for some change, if not by replacing him altogether then at least by giving him less support this time around.
The 1987 election results showed that both presidential candidates lost their seats. The GPP leader has always been in parliament since independence but lost his seat to a young Pa Mandu Sanyang who stood under the PPP Ticket. Mr. Sheriff M. Dibba also lost to Dr Lamin Nafa Saho of the PPP.
Mr. Dibba who was 46 years at the time lost by a margin of only 95 votes whilst Mr. Camara lost by a margin of 510 votes.
Mr. Sidia Jatta and Halifa Sallah, spokes persons of PDOIS did not also win their seats. However, according to the Times Halifa made a good attempt when he scored more than 1000 votes in 1987.
According to the Times, both Dibba and Camara would have to consider their political future. This attempt was Dibba’s third time he had been contesting for the presidential elections and lost. He had also lost his constituency seat in the last two-consecutive elections.
The results also showed that Mr. Dibba managed to gain 27% of the votes cast while Mr. Camara gained 13% of votes cast.
A little survey of the results has shown that with the combined force of the opposition, Jawara would have had a tougher time.
The combined opposition in 1987 defeated Sir Dawda Jawara in Banjul Administrative Area by a margin of 880 votes. The combined opposition also defeated president Jawara in the presidential vote by 1233 votes in KMC area.
Looking at the overall percentage, the combined opposition polled 41% of the votes cast country-wide. The sad thing about Gambian democracy is that whilst 41% of the Gambian voters opposed the policies of the government, they had to endure with it for another five years with only 6 representatives in parliament. This means that the vast majority of the opposition supporters had not been represented in parliament.
Sir Dawda fared well mainly in the rural areas. In the Brikama administrative area he scored 20,715 whilst the combined opposition scored 15,955 votes. In Mansa Konko administrative area, the PPP gained 12,102 while the combined opposition came out with 6555 votes. In Kerewan, the PPP score was 22,871 whilst the opposition combined came out with 18,41d1 votes. In Georgetown, PPP had 28,510 and the opposition had 13,134.
For Basse, the president had 23,791 whilst the opposition had 13,530 votes.
In parliamentary elections the opposition would have captured many places if they had combined their strength.
For example, in Lower Niumi Mr. Dodou Ngom managed to win by a margin of only 51 votes but with the combined votes of Jain Colley Faye GPP and Jerreh Jammeh NCP he would have been defeated by 854 votes.
Similarly Dr. Lamin Nafa Saho had a margin of 95 votes over Sheriff M. Dibba but with the combined votes of GPPs Abdoulie Jaiteh’s, Mr. Saho would have been defeated by a margin of 19 votes. Again in Eastern Wuli Mr. Seni Singhateh was elected with a majority of 385 votes but with the combined votes of the opposition he would
have lost with a margin of 72 votes.
The tactical Alliance suggested by the PDOIS was rejected by the two main parties at the time perhaps because of the feeling that PDOIS was not only a new party but that they had no structures on the ground and no influence whatsoever except the symparthy they may have from the people that as intellectuals who had sacrificed to stand for their principles.
The other consideration for the lack of collaboration must have been the feeling that with tactical alliance a new party may succeed in registering a seat in the parliament, which may create future obstacles for them.
What is however not in doubt is the fact that Mr. Dibba especially have always been suspicious of intellectuals to the extent of urging his supports to distrust them. As for Mr. Camara, he may have been over confident of winning.
Jawara however lost the urban vote in 1987 to the combined opposition. Many attributed that to the lack of employment opportunities and the high cost of living generally.
Others also attributed it to the February 13th student disturbances, which drew the public’s attention to their vital needs. According to the press release of the students, “the voice of the Gambia student’s union” the students said it has never been their intention to perform such a strike, which they dubbed “an operation,” but due to unbearable circumstances which they said the Education Department was aware of, but decided to ignore it.
They said their action was seen to be the only option to liberate them or as they dared said, die in the cause of it.
The students lamented lack of transportation facilities (very few school buses) which they said made life unbearable for them. The students vowed to continue if the police would not release their colleagues. They also urged the authorities to allow those students who were suspended or expelled to resume classes.
See next issue as we analyze post 1987 elections.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 114/2007, 28 - 30 September, 2007
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