Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – UDP leader Ousainu Darboe has signaled conditional openness to an opposition united front ahead of The Gambia’s December presidential election but drew a firm red line against the use of primaries or conventions to select a flag-bearer.
Speaking on Saturday at a meeting organized to welcome former presidential aspirant Alhagie Suwareh into the United Democratic Party (UDP), Darboe said his party remained open to alliances or coalitions, provided they are grounded in principle and political reality.
“Whether it is an alliance or coalition, we are open to it on principles,” Darboe said, arguing that globally, the party with the largest support base naturally leads such arrangements.
Any attempt to deny the UDP that role, he added, would amount to delegitimizing its standing. “We will not accept that. And I must say categorically that the UDP will not go to a convention.”
Darboe anchored his position in past experience, recalling the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD), an opposition coalition formed in 2005. He said internal manoeuvring during the flag-bearer selection process led to the UDP being sidelined, prompting his withdrawal from the alliance.
“When I realized they were fighting over it, I decided to withdraw and allow them to have an opportunity among themselves to do whatever they wanted to do,” he said. “We are not going to get to a convention level and say we are withdrawing. We are not going to do that.”
While maintaining that parties wishing to join the UDP were welcome, Darboe was blunt with those seeking a negotiated seat at the table.
“Parties that want to join the UDP are welcome, but those that want to sit at the table can look elsewhere,” he said, stressing that coalitions should not be driven by power-sharing calculations but by shared principles and programs.
He further argued that political analysts have consistently maintained that no viable or successful opposition coalition can be formed without the UDP. Accepting that reality, he said, should compel opposition parties to put aside individual identities and rally behind the UDP as the most credible vehicle for political change.
“For the time being, the UDP is the only credible vehicle that can lead the change of government in this country,” Darboe said.
Seeking to dispel perceptions of personal ambition, the UDP leader said his primary concern was not occupying State House but ensuring the country’s rescue.
He underscored the party’s institutional continuity, noting that even in the event of unforeseen circumstances, the UDP would endure and select a substitute flag-bearer if necessary.
“My presidency is secondary, and the UDP to lead is the primary objective,” he said. “That is what we all believe in.”
Darboe concluded with a renewed appeal to opposition actors to partner with the UDP in what he framed as a national rescue mission, warning against alliances driven chiefly by the pursuit of positions.
“If anyone is talking about power sharing as a primary objective, then that person doesn’t love this country but is looking for a position,” he said. “What is fair to the Gambian people is for us to rescue this country.”
