By Momodou Lamin Yaffa
I chose this French expression as a title because it is more commonly used in French than its English equivalent. “tactical or strategic voting”, is used in English. It simply means that, on an election day, voters should vote wisely for an opposition candidate that is more likely to win against an incumbent candidate even though the voter is either a militant or supporter of one of many other opposition candidates.
This is called pragmatism in the face of a regime that the majority of the population is unanimous in wishing its demise in the supreme interest of the nation. When the majority of the electorate is pretty certain that defeating the incumbent is good riddance owing to economic decay, corruption and all other forms of malgovernance, it is paramount to resort to strategic voting in the hope that a win for the opposition would stymie malgovernance and herald an era of economic growth, prosperity and development. Such an option is advisable only and only if the opposition fails to form a coalition to remove the corrupt and inept party in power.
Considering the Gambian political context, fond memories come to mind of the rainbow coalition that helped to oust the tyrannical regime foisted on the Gambian people by Yahya Jammeh. The Adama Barrow administration was carried into power by that noble coalition but no sooner had the seeds of disunity started to sprout than Adama systematically reneged on his pledge to relinquish power after three years during which electoral, judicial, security, civil service and other reforms would have been introduced.
The coalition fizzled out as a result and Adama Barrow thereon sought to consolidate his power by first seeking to take over the United Democratic Party (UDP). When his nefarious attempt was foiled, he reached out to his demons of yore, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC). This was done by rallying around himself some key elements of the erstwhile APRC because of the absence of a political base. However, the APRC cronies did not join Adama out of loyalty. They did so out of the lust for the spoils of power, self-aggrandisement and self-enrichment.
In fact, Adama Barrow started getting embroiled in the self-aggrandisement and self-enrichment trend by receiving foreign gifts thus jeopardising the country’s economic sovereignty, by building a multi-million dalasi mansion on the ruins of mud houses and dilapidated corrugated roofs at his native village of Mankamang Kunda.
Thereafter, a cascade of dubious corrupt practices started to surface such as the mysterious transfer of over D35 million into the account of his spouse’s foundation, two GamPetroleum oil scandals, the misappropriation of a plot of land in Fajara, the numerous indicting audit reports, a runaway inflation, a spiralling debt burden, rampant corruption, chronic unemployment, zero industrialisation, declining tourism, just to name a few. In view of all the aforementioned woes, the bulk of the Gambian people are now wallowing in abject poverty and enduring hardship in all walks of life be it education, health, agriculture, and so forth. Economic decay is in plain sight all over the country. The majority of Gambians survive thanks to diaspora remittances or owing to widespread corruption.
In light of the aforementioned stark reality, the electorate has no other option but to vote the current government out of power. To achieve such a feat, the ideal approach is the unity of an overwhelming number of opposition parties by rallying behind the largest and strongest party of the opposition, namely the UDP. I am not making this appeal out of partisanship but out of oft-repeated electoral successes scored by the UDP compared to all other parties of the opposition.
It is therefore time to emulate the example set in 2016 in the run-up to the presidential election that year or do as many opposition parties did in neighbouring Senegal by rallying behind the main opposition party (Pastef) and carrying it to a resounding victory last year. It is worth adding that Pastef and its allies did not achieve victory through mere slogans but a clear programme that easily galvanised the people to vote and assure them victory in the first round of voting.
It is for this reason that I deplore Talib Bensouda and his followers’ breakaway from the UDP. Whatever steam their movement may gather ahead of next year’s presidential election, it cannot become stronger than the UDP within an extremely short period of one year and a couple of months from the election.
The UDP has always demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity. Yahya Jammeh had always harboured the vicious plan to break the party and send it into oblivion. He had intimidated, imprisoned, maimed, disappeared, forced into exile and killed UDP militants and supporters. He ultimately jailed key elements of its leadership hoping that it would be the final act of his play that would relieve him from the constant nightmare of having to confront the UDP in elections. However, the ploy turned out to be the cause of his disgraceful downfall.
Adama Barrow also joined the fray by breaking away from the party and clamouring for its destruction. All the same, despite questionable resources that he uses from his arsenal to weaken the UDP, the latter has seen its grassroots loyalty grow both inside The Gambia and in the diaspora. It seems the main factor of the party’s resilience and strength resides in the unwavering willingness of its militants, supporters and sympathisers to replenish the party’s coffers whenever the need to do so arises. In fact, the UDP is the only party on the Gambian political scene that is entirely funded through contributions and donations from its adherents.
In light of the foregoing, I solemnly urge all parties of the opposition to join hands with the UDP, rally behind its flag-bearer and carry the coalition to victory come next year. In so doing, they should coin a slogan that makes the fight against corruption, financial impunity and promoting affordability of the cost of living through job creation, industrialization, better standards of education, health and nutrition, etc.
I hope this clarion call would receive the attention it deserves and thus serve as the seed of unity among opposition parties, galvanise them to victory and thus usher in the dawn of systemic change that would put an end to mal governance and its attendant cycles of despair and poverty and achieve our long cherished dream for prosperity and development.
