Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – President Adama Barrow’s NPP-led political coalition is widening ahead of The Gambia’s December 5 presidential election, with the All Peoples Party-Sobeyaa (APP-Sobeyaa) now confirming that it has reached an agreement in principle with the ruling National People’s Party (NPP).
The development follows President Barrow’s public appeal to APP-Sobeyaa leader Essa Mbye Faal to join the NPP, made a day earlier during the inauguration of the 4.5-kilometer Gunjur Seaside Road.
APP-Sobeyaa said in a statement that an agreement in principle had been reached with the NPP, although consultations within the party and with the NPP were still ongoing. The party has not yet announced the formal structure or terms of the proposed alliance.
The latest development adds another political force to a ruling-party alliance that has already expanded beyond the NPP. In July, the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), led by Mama Kandeh, formally joined the NPP-led alliance after negotiations between the two parties.
The proposed APP-Sobeyaa arrangement is particularly significant given Faal’s previous position in opposition to the Barrow administration. Faal contested the 2021 presidential election and later became APP-Sobeyaa’s presidential candidate.
His party had also been involved in efforts to build a broader opposition coalition before withdrawing from the APeX/CHANGE process.
The APP-Sobeyaa–NPP discussions had been reported for several weeks before the latest confirmation. The party first acknowledged in September that its executive was engaging political parties, including the NPP, over possible alliances and coalition arrangements.
With APP-Sobeyaa now confirming an agreement in principle, the political landscape is taking shape around several competing blocs as the election approaches.
The NPP-led alliance includes the ruling party and the GDC, while the proposed addition of APP-Sobeyaa would bring another presidential contender and political organization into the governing camp. The development comes as opposition forces continue their own efforts to consolidate.
APP-Sobeyaa, however, has yet to disclose what the agreement with the NPP means for the December presidential contest, including the respective roles of the two parties, the position of Faal, and whether the arrangement will involve a formal withdrawal of Faal’s presidential candidacy.
The party said the date and details of the alliance announcement would be communicated after its internal consultations with supporters and stakeholders are concluded.
APP-Sobeyaa also urged its supporters and the general public to disregard speculation and misinformation, stressing that official information should be obtained directly from the party.
For President Barrow, the latest development comes less than three months before the election and after months of political realignment, with his NPP increasingly seeking to bring previously separate political forces into a common electoral arrangement.
The final shape of that alliance, and how the various parties and political forces translate their organizational structures and support bases into a common campaign, will become clearer as the December 5 vote approaches.
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