Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BANJUL65
2007-02-07 10:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Banjul
Cable title:  

REACTIONS TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KDEM GA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHJL #0065/01 0381055
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 071055Z FEB 07 ZDK CCY
FM AMEMBASSY BANJUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7295
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANJUL 000065 

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y--PARA NUMBERS CORRECTED

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM GA
SUBJECT: REACTIONS TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

REF: A. BANJUL 44


B. 06 BANJUL 653

BANJUL 00000065 001.4 OF 003


Classified By: Poloff Menaka M. Nayyar, reason 1.4 (b and d)

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SUMMARY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANJUL 000065

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y--PARA NUMBERS CORRECTED

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM GA
SUBJECT: REACTIONS TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

REF: A. BANJUL 44


B. 06 BANJUL 653

BANJUL 00000065 001.4 OF 003


Classified By: Poloff Menaka M. Nayyar, reason 1.4 (b and d)

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


1. (SBU) Reactions to the January 25 National Assembly
elections are generally positive with regard to the technical
voting and counting procedures. However, observers and
politicians alike have expressed dismay at the low voter
turnout rate and some irregularities, while the opposition
United Democratic Party (UDP) expressed outrage at incidents
of harassment and intimidation by authorities. President
Jammeh, jubilant over his Alliance for Patriotic
Reorientation and Construction's (APRC) widespread victory,
took the occasion to lambaste the opposition. Post judges
the election results to be credible, but the polling was
marred by scattered irregularities that may well have
influenced the outcome in at least one constituency. END
SUMMARY

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OBSERVERS' CRITIQUES
--------------


2. (SBU) On January 27, Poloff attended an election
observation debriefing for members of the donor community and
diplomatic corps, hosted by UNDP. As reported in ref A, of
the 48 elected National Assembly seats, the APRC won 42
seats, the opposition UDP garnered four seats, and a
candidate from the opposition National Alliance for Democracy
(NADD) and Development and an independent candidate won the
remaining two seats. Overall, the voting on January 25 was
observed to be peaceful and orderly, and the secrecy of the
ballot was generally protected. No observers reported
evidence of systematic rigging of the elections or other
widespread irregularities; however, the observers noted the
low voter turnout -- 42 percent nationwide -- as well as
scattered instances of irregularities, including underage
voters in some constituencies in the center of the country.
Procedural glitches, such as the delay in the transport of
the ballot boxes to counting centers and a few cases of
unauthorized persons at some counting centers, were also
observed.



3. (U) Also on January 27, Ambassador and Poloff attended
the official IEC debriefing for election observers, where the
consensus was that the outcome was credible and the election
results "reflected the will of the people." There was
agreement, by and large, that the security forces behaved
correctly and refrained from interfering in the voting
process with the noted exception in Upper Saloum (ref A).

--------------
JAMMEH IN THE MEDIA
--------------


4. (SBU) Among the irregularities, election observers and
the opposition voiced dismay at President Jammeh's partisan
remarks to the publicly-owned Gambia Radio and Television
Services (GRTS) on January 24, which had been designated by
the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as a "no
campaigning" day. On the nightly television news, Jammeh, in
a clear pitch for the APRC, advised voters that, though they
were free to vote for whomever they chose, they should vote
for "the party that was clearly going to win and bring The
Gambia development." In a radio message on the same day, he
warned the electorate that those areas that did not vote for
the APRC would not receive development assistance, echoing
threats made during the September 2006 presidential election
campaign.


5. (C) After the results were announced on January 26,
President Jammeh told reporters at GRTS that he was happy
voters had "thrown out two empty barrels" from the National
Assembly. Though he did not name them, it is widely believed
he was referring to opposition National Assembly Member
(NAM),Halifa Sallah, outgoing National Assembly Minority
Leader and NADD flagbearer, and former NAM Hamat Bah, leader
of the UDP-allied National Reconciliation Party (NRP).
Jammeh accused them of being engaged in "useless
intellectualism" and being "in the pay of a foreign country."
(COMMENT: Prior to the elections, Jammeh had made no secret
of his desire to see Sallah and Bah defeated. As noted in
ref A, underage voting was observed in Bah's constituency and
may well have been a factor in his defeat. Regarding
Jammeh's allegation of opposition elements being "in the pay
of a foreign country," he has previously made this claim, but

BANJUL 00000065 002.4 OF 003


he and other GOTG officials steadfastly decline to identify
the foreign country involved. Jammeh may well have been
referring to Senegal, as Hamat Bah in particular is known to
have contacts with Senegalese politicians, based on, for
example, shared participation in ECOWAS parliamentary
activities. END COMMENT)

--------------
WHY SO LOW?
--------------


7. (U) The most common explanation given for the low voter
turnout (41.7 percent) is that the electorate is fed up with
the weak and divided opposition, and views APRC victories as
a foregone conclusion. However, some contacts speculated
that timing was a factor, noting that the election was held
during the rice harvest, which could have kept some rural
citizens from voting.

--------------
UDP REACTS
--------------


8. (SBU) On February 1, Poloff and Pol Assistant met with
senior UDP official Yaya Jallow, who stated that the voting
process itself was transparent, echoing UDP leader Ousainou
Darboe's official statement accepting the results. However,
Jallow said the UDP -- the largest opposition party -- had
numerous complaints about candidate intimidation and campaign
rule violations, and expressed dissatisfaction with his
party's four seats, stating they would have won 20 seats had
the playing field been level. (COMMENT: This estimate is
grossly exaggerated. Prior to the contest, our contacts,
including opposition supporters, had estimated the opposition
and independent slates together would win five to ten seats;
in the end, non-APRC candidates won six seats. END COMMENT)
Jallow went on to cite what he saw as irregularities, such
as the involvement of local officials in getting non-Gambians
to vote in opposition strongholds. (COMMENT: The general
agreement among our contacts is that there was no significant
evidence of voting by non-Gambians in this contest as
compared to the presidential election last September, where
there were clear signs of such voting. END COMMENT). He
also referred to the involvement of supposedly neutral
village chiefs in partisan activities, noting it was contrary
to the Commonwealth-brokered Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) of February 2006 setting forth a "code of good conduct"
by parties in their election activities.


9. (U) Jallow also discussed his party's concern over cases
of authorities' intimidation of some UDP candidates and
supporters, as well as scattered instances of detention,
before and after the January 25 elections. He cited as an
example the arrest of the UDP candidate in Basse and nine of
his supporters on charges of unlawful assembly and breach of
peace. Most of these detainees have since been released, and
the detained candidates were permitted to remain on the
ballot for the elections. (COMMENT: Most of our contacts
agree that, while these incidents of harassment directed
against the opposition were indeed a blot on the electoral
process, they were not of such magnitude or severity as to
have a significant impact on the outcome, particularly as the
detained opposition figures did not have their candidacies
revoked. END COMMENT) Jallow reiterated the plight of two
high-profile UDP detainees, Kanyiba Kanyi, a UDP supporter
who has not been heard from since September, and Ousman
"Rambo" Jatta, an elected local UDP official also detained
since September (ref B).

--------------
OTHER OPPOSITION REACTIONS
--------------


10. (U) Other opposition parties have maintained a low
profile since the contest, issuing few statements. NADD head
and defeated incumbent minority leader, Halifa Sallah,
reportedly told the media that he accepted the results,
including his own defeat. In addition, the defeated NRP
head, Hamat Bah, has refrained from public comment. However,
representatives of his NRP party have complained about
election improprieties, e.g. the underage voting mentioned
above.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


11. (SBU) The general consensus among election observers
and others -- a consensus that we share -- on the January 25
elections is that, as in the September 2006 presidential
election, the voting process itself was relatively

BANJUL 00000065 003.4 OF 003


transparent and free of flagrant problems such as mass
rigging of the ballot boxes. However, the irregularities
witnessed on polling day, coupled with the scattered acts of
intimidation against the opposition, highlighted the fact
that these elections were far from perfect. Post judges the
overall election results credible, although irregularities
may well have been a factor in APRC victories in a few
constituencies, particularly in that where opposition NRP
candidate Hamat Bah was narrowly defeated by his ruling party
challenger. The playing field was tilted in the APRC's favor
and had it been more level, the opposition -- the UDP in
particular -- may well have picked up a few more seats.
Nevertheless, on a more positive note, the UDP, despite its
complaints about the election process, did choose to
participate in the contest rather than repeat its boycott of
the last National Assembly elections in 2002. The UDP did
pick up four seats, which when added to the two seats picked
up by NADD and an independent candidate, raises from three toQsix the total non-APRC presence in the National Assembly.
END COMMENT.
STAFFORD