THE GAMBIA: PRESIDENT JAMMEH WINS RE-ELECTION IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANJUL 000588

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KMCA KDEM GA
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: PRESIDENT JAMMEH WINS RE-ELECTION IN
LANDSLIDE

REF: BANJUL 586 AND PREVIOUS

BANJUL 00000588 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH STAFFORD, REASON 1.4 (B AND D)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) As expected, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has won
re-election in the September 22 contest, receiving over 65
percent of the vote, according to virtually complete
results announced as of September 23 afternoon by the
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Embassy
observation teams dispatched throughout the tiny country
witnessed a generally peaceful and orderly voting process,
although under-age persons were seen casting ballots at
several polling sites. Election day was preceded by a
several-week campaign period in which the playing field was
considerably skewed in Jammeh's and his APRC party's
favor. Our initial assessment is that The Gambia's 2006
presidential election fell short of achieving its potential
as a milestone in the country's democratic process, but was
more than a strictly ritualistic exercise, as the Gambian
voter was free to cast a secret ballot in the opposition's
favor. END SUMMARY.


JAMMEH'S LANDSIDE VICTORY
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2. (U) As expected, President Jammeh (ruling APRC party)
was elected to a third five-year term September 22, handily
defeating his two challengers, Ousainou Darboe, head of the
country's largest opposition party, the United Democratic
Party in alliance with two smaller parties, and Halifa
Sallah, head of the National Alliance for Democracy and
Development (NADD),a coalition of four minor parties.
According to virtually complete results announced the
afternoon of September 23 by the IEC, Jammeh received over
65 percent of the upwards of 400,000 votes cast nationwide,
while Darboe's tally was around 25 percent, and Sallah
finished third with about 10 percent. Neither Darboe nor
Sallah has conceded defeat as yet, but they are expected to
do so shortly.

A PEACEFUL, ORDERLY ELECTION DAY
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3. (U) The Embassy fielded four teams to observe the
polling in various areas of the tiny country; we visited
perhaps a total of 100 or so voting sites. Our teams found
the voting process to be peaceful and orderly, witnessing
no incidents of violence; nor have we picked up any reports
of untoward incidents from other domestic and international
observer groups. By and large, polling officials at the
sites visited were knowledgeable of their duties and
respected the voters' right to cast ballots in secret.
These officials were also cooperative with us, e.g., freely
responding to our questions and permitting us to view the
"ballot boxes" (i.e. metal drums into which each voter
dropped a marble that served as the ballot.) Similarly
cooperative were the political parties' representatives at
the sites, with the opposition as well as APRC reps
expressing satisfaction with the voting process. We
witnessed no incidents of intimidation or harassment by
either security officials or ruling party supporters; no
pro-APRC (or pro-opposition) posters or other promotional
items were in evidence, and none of the voters wore the
"APRC" baseball caps, shirts, or other items that had been
evident during the campaigning.

IRREGULARITIES
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4. (C) But irregularities in the voting process were
noted. At various sites in central and western Gambia, we
observed voting by children clearly under the legal voting
age of 18; at one site, the number of such under-age voters
was estimated at upwards of 100. There were also doubtless
instances of non-Gambians voting -- e.g., Senegalese of
Jammeh's Jolla tribe from the Casamance region -- although
we ourselves were unable to verify cases during our
observation. (COMMENT: Per reftel, during the campaign,
the opposition accused the APRC of arranging for the
registration of unqualified voters, i.e. under-age and
non-Gambian persons. We believe that the opposition's
accusation had merit, but the actual number of unqualified
persons registered is unknown. END COMMENT)

SLANTED PLAYING FIELD
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5. (C) Apart from the foregoing irregularities -- which
presumably boosted Jammeh's victory margin by an unknown
margin -- the voting process on election day appeared
credible. But, as previously reported (reftel),it was
preceded by several weeks of campaigning in which the
playing field was skewed considerably in Jammeh's favor.
He took full advantage of his incumbent status, whether
using official funds in dispensing largesse to farmers or
having provincial governors and other supposedly neutral
bureacrats campaign on his behalf. While the opposition
was given access to the official media in its
electioneering activities, Jammeh and his campaign received
more extensive and favorable treatment. The volatile,
rough-hewn Jammeh's penchant for rhetorical excess was also
on display on the stump, as he threatened to withhold
development aid from areas not voting for him.

COMMENT: OUR INITIAL TAKE
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6. (C) Jammeh's landslide victory comes as no surprise.
The opposition's fragmentation in past months -- in
particular, UDP head Darboe's breaking away from NADD --
ensured Jammeh's triumph, while the slanted playing field
in his during the campaigning was likely the key factor in
the margin of that triumph. It is noteworthy, in this
regard, that he won the last presidential contest, in 2001,
with only 52 percent of the vote. Our initial judgment is
that The Gambia's 2006 presidential election fell short of
achieving its potential as a milestone in the country's
democratic process, although the voting was more than just
a ritualistic exercise on Jammeh's behalf. At the end of
the day, the Gambian voter was allowed to cast a vote -- in
secrecy -- for an opposition candidate. END COMMENT


7. (U) We will submit a more extensive post-mortem on the
election via septel, following our planned discussions with
other observer groups.

STAFFORD