The secretary of state for Fisheries, Water Resources, and National Assembly Matters, Yankuba Touray, who doubles as the national mobiliser of the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party, has described their just concluded week-long constitutional sensitisation across the length and breadth of the country as "successful".

The week-long sensitisation which targeted militants and sympathisers of the ruling party in the country, accordingly, was meant to sensitise them on the newly revised constitution that was approved by the party leader, His Excellency Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, after it had gone through a national congress.

According to the APRC chief propagandist, the reaction of the party militants and sympathisers during the course of the sensitisation tour was very positive. He hailed them for embracing the idea. "The sensitisation was also meant to help them on how to put in place new structures, particularly at the ward, village, constituency and regional levels," he explained, noting that the end result is to ensure that effective and efficient structures are available for the smooth and efficient running of the party.           
                
Defections from opposition in Wuli
The success of this constitutional sensitisation was by no means limited to the fact that the delegation has achieved its objective of passing on the message. As SoS Touray indicated, there were mass defections of various opposition militants to the APRC party. The defection in Fadiyaa Kunda in Wuli, according to him, was a great boost to the party, taking into consideration the fact that the area had been an opposition stronghold since 1996.

“Most of the time, we poll a percentage of about 40 in that polling station, whilst the opposition poll about 60 per cent. But with the current trend out there, we believe we can increase our percentage to conquer the area," he explained.

This political development, SoS Touray posited, is undoubtedly a great achievement for the ruling party. In his view, any increase in number for any political party is reason enough for them to boast as it speaks volumes of the strength and vibrancy of that party.
Asked about what may have warranted these defections, SoS Touray indicated that they can only be attributed to the fact that the defectors have realised that the government, under President Jammeh, has brought numerous development to their doorsteps. He said that the defectors also said that they have realised how the APRC government has gone far in promoting unity and tolerance in the area, by resolving their internal problems such as alkaloship crises.

At this juncture, National Mobiliser Touray expressed high optimism that his party will not relent in its efforts to ensure that they sweep that part of the country and all the regions in the coming general elections. "We are optimistic of sweeping that area, because even in the last elections, the NADD candidate won by less than 400 votes. So with this mass defection, we have all rights to be optimistic," he said, revealing further that the APRC party needs at least 250 votes to conquer the area in the future election. However, SoS Touray acknowledged that defection to a party is one good thing, but that maintaining these defectors will be a different thing altogether. In this regard, he expressed his party’s commitment to consolidate the development and to ensure that the defectors stay in the party.

Plans in the pipeline
Secretary of State Touray went on to reveal some of his party’s future plans and programmes in the run-up to the 2011 presidential elections. He disclosed to the Daily Observer that his party has already put in place a programme of activities running up to 2011, pointing out that the just concluded party constitutional sensitisation is one of such programmes.

His party, he said, will also strengthen its structures on the ground, describing that as very crucial. "We want to make sure that the smallest political unit, which are the wards across the country, have their presidents and executive committees," he said and highlighted the party’s intention to embark on voter education and registration across the length and breadth of the country. Making reference to reported low voter turnout registered in the immediate past general elections, he argued that such a move will greatly change the situation.

Challenges
Despite the conspicuous development gains realised by the people thanks to the achievements by the ruling party, its National Mobiliser believes that there is still more to come, notably in the Lower River Region, another area that registered a low voter percentage (53 per cent) for the party in the last election, compared to other regions. The Central River Region, according to him, is another region where the party intends to improve on.

He however expressed the party’s resolve to consolidate the support in the Western Region and the Kanifing Municipality, maintaining that these two regions constitute 51 per cent of the total voter population. The APRC chief propagandist then used the opportunity to implore party militants to renew their commitment, loyalty and allegiance to the party, as there is no cause for complacency.