Gambia’s main opposition United Democratic Party Saturday pulled out of talks with other parties over forming a coalition to face the ruling National People’s Party in next December’s presidential vote.
Sources at the talks said UDP delegates Lare Sesay and Lamin Manneh declared that the party’s position was no longer aligned with that of other parties involved in the talks. Manneh was quoted as saying that the decision to quit the talks had emanated from the leadership of the UDP.
The UPD’s involvement in the talks ended after an apparent deadlock over which party should provide the standard bearer to challenge President Barrow.
As Gambia’s biggest opposition party, the UDP led by veteran lawyer Ousainou Darboe has gone into the talks maintaining its position that it should provide the coalition candidate to challenge Barrow who is bidding for a third term in office.
However, other opposition parties at the talks insisted that any candidate leading the coalition into the polls should emerge from a democratic process determined by all its members.
Gambia goes to the polls to elect a president on 5th December 2026 with incumbent Barrow bidding for a controversial third term.
President Barrow, 61, had won two presidential votes including in 2016 when at the head of an opposition coalition he defeated ex-military ruler Yahya Jammeh who initially conceded before challenging the outcome over an electoral commission error.
This plunged the country into a month-long political crisis which ended with Jammeh (in power for 22 years) fleeing into exile in Equatorial Guinea.
WN/as/APA