All signs are pointing out to a peaceful election, even in the absence of a Memorandum of Understanding. The three presidential candidates have been calling for a peaceful election since the inception.
In fact, just on Thursday, President Jammeh told his supporters in Brikama that they should not provoke opposition supporters and that opposition supporters should not see this as licence for provoking APRC supporters. “Democracy and politics have nothing to do with violence, so cast your votes in peace…,” he said.
This call of the leaders seems to be resonating. Yesterday supporters of the APRC and the Coalition came face to face on opposite sides of the road along Kombo Sillah as the Coalition’s long convoy and its candidate drove along one side of the dual carriage way towards Banjul while the APRC convoy and its candidate speeded up along the other side towards Busumbala. But in spite of the massive crowd (apart from some hick-ups here and there), there was no incident as supporters of each side roared with excitement in support of their candidates as they came face to face. It was all over in a matter of minutes.
Election is about selecting the candidate who will best serve the interest of the nation. The elected person should become a servant not a lord and can be replaced by another if the electorate so desires. Once this is understood by all there would be no violence.
