Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The leader of the Golden Era Party (GEP), Sekou Saho, has confirmed that his party is actively pursuing a coalition with the United Democratic Party (UDP) and has ruled out any possibility of reuniting with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) following their recent split.
Speaking on Coffee Time with Peter Gomez on Monday, Saho said GEP had moved on from its former alliance with the PPP and was now focused on building a broader opposition coalition centered on the UDP ahead of the December 2026 presidential election.
“I just don’t think PPP is ready,” Saho said when asked whether the partnership with the PPP could be revived. “There is no way of going back. We are ready to collaborate with UDP and other like-minded parties.”
PPP Split and Coalition Talks
Saho disclosed that while he was the PPP’s presidential candidate, he was the one who first proposed a PPP-UDP alliance, believing that opposition unity offered the best chance of defeating the ruling National People’s Party (NPP).
According to him, his proposal was driven by political realities rather than personal ambition. He argued that the UDP’s electoral strength made it the natural leader of any opposition coalition seeking to unseat the NPP.
He, however, blamed the collapse of the initiative on what he described as the PPP leadership’s slow response to coalition negotiations. Saho said delays in securing the party’s internal approval prevented meaningful progress at a time when the election calendar demanded urgency.
“We cannot keep waiting. The election is only four months away,” he said, warning that prolonged negotiations over leadership positions were distracting the opposition from addressing the country’s pressing challenges.
Focus Shifts to UDP
Following the split with the PPP, Saho said GEP has restructured its internal leadership and is preparing to engage the UDP on the next phase of discussions toward a formal political alliance.
Although he stressed that GEP has not yet entered into an official coalition with the UDP, he reaffirmed the party’s commitment to a UDP-led alliance, arguing that the formation of another opposition bloc would only fragment the opposition vote.
“The ideology is almost the same across the opposition. The problem is leadership. We have to put our egos aside and put the country first,” he said.
Saho maintained that the inability of opposition leaders to compromise remains the greatest obstacle to political change in The Gambia.
“If we fail to unite and lose the election, the responsibility will lie with those leaders who refused to compromise,” he said.
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