Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The recently-concluded process of electing the UDP candidate for the 2026 presidential elections might well turn out to be a pivotal moment in the history of the party, and The Gambia too. The UDP, which was founded in 1996 by veteran Gambian lawyer Ousainou N. Darboe, has certainly earned its place in Gambian history as a party that stood steadfast in its fight against former Dictator, President Yahya Jammeh, who ruled the country for 22 years (1994 – 2017).
Under the leadership of Lawyer Darboe, the UDP unsuccessfully contested all four presidential elections ((1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011), and failed to get the majority of seats in two (1997 and 2007) out of four (having boycotted the the 2002 and 2012) National Assembly elections.
Darboe, along with UDP supporters were targeted by President Jammeh for persecution, including arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture. In April 2016, Darboe and other UDP officials held a demonstration demanding the release of Ebrima Solo Sandeng (who later was confirmed to have died from torture while in detention) and were arrested and later sentenced to jail.
In the lead up to the 2016 presidential elections, opposition parties formed Coalition 2016 against President Jammeh. Because Darboe was in jail when the coalition was being formed, Coalition 2016 elected Adama Barrow, who had to resign from the UDP, as their presidential candidate. Barrow went on to a stunning defeat over incumbent President Jammeh.
Following the departure of President Jammeh in January 2017, under pressure from ECOWAS, Barrow assumed power. Barrow then pardoned and released Lawyer Darboe and other UDP officials from prison. Furthermore, President Barrow appointed Darboe as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and later as Vice President and Minister of Women’s Affairs.
Darboe, in return, vehemently defended President Barrow when he decided to serve beyond the three years he had agreed to with his Coalition 2016 partners. Darboe soon had a falling out with President Barrow, who broke away from the UDP and launched his own party the National People’s Party (NPP) in December 2019.
Darboe continued to lead the UDP and contested the 2021 presidential elections, which he lost to President Barrow. However, the UDP won the second largest number of seats (15) in the 2022 National Assembly elections, just behind the NPP which won 18 seats. The UDP thus became the Minority Party in the National Assembly.
With the 2026 presidential elections just over a year away, all eyes are now on the UDP, and for good reason too. First, the UDP is the leading Opposition Party, and for better or worse, could hold the key to the outcome of the 2026 presidential elections.
The sense among many Gambians and elections pundits is that the President Barrow will win the 2026 presidential elections unless the opposition parties form a Coalition, as they did in 2016 and defeated President Jammeh.
The next issue in this line of reasoning is that the UDP, as the leading Opposition Party, would have an important role to play in a 2026 Coalition, if it indeed is formed to contest the 2026 elections. It thus follows that the UDP flag bearer would also be the presidential candidate for a 2026 Coalition. Hence the firery contest the UDP held for the party’s flag bearer for the 2026 elections.
On September 3, 2025, the UDP announced that 11 candidates (all male) had filed their applications as candidates in its elections of a flag bearer for the 2026 elections. In addition to Darboe, the aspiring candidates included Amadou Sanneh (former Minister of Finance in the Barrow government), two National Assembly Members, three businessmen, and one medical doctor.
The slate of candidates was reduced to 10 following the withdrawal of Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda (who is Mayor of Kanifing, The Gambia’s largest of two Municipalities) of his candidacy, because, he said, he did not want to challenge Lawyer Darboe for the position of UDP flag bearer.
The remaining 10 candidates were screened by the party’s Vetting Committee, which then shortlisted three candidates (including Darboe) as the candidates to proceed to further consultations with the party’s Council of Elders to arrive at a consensus candidate. In the end, Darboe was selected as their flag bearer for the 2026 presidential elections.
The original number of candidates which initially entered the race for the flag bearer of the party, is possibly indicative of restlessness among the up and coming UDP leaders, as well as fears that the 77-year old Darboe would not be their best candidate to contest President Barrow. Besides, many in the UDP and outside it say that Darboe has unsuccessfully contested five presidentials, so it is now time for him to pass the baton to a younger generation.
Although Darboe is in the global league of Perennial Canditates, he is not alone. Top of the league, is Dr. K Padmarajan, an Indian medical doctor who contested 199 elections – and lost all of them! Africa has also had its crop of perennial candidates, including Adrien Houngbédji of Benin, Afonso Dhlakama of Mozambique, Philippe Boullé of Seychelles, and Ibrahim Lipumba of Tanzania who each contested presidential elections five times without success.
In addition, Wavel Ramkalawan, leader of Seychelles National Party, and President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, unsuccessfully contested for elections 5 times before wining on the sixth attempt. Could Lawyer Darboe clinch a surprise victory on his sixth attempt as presidential candidate?
That aside, the other question that should be asked is: how would Darboe’s selection as the UDP’s flag bearer affect the prospects for the success of the party in the 2026 presidential elections? Indeed, how would his selection affect prospects for the formation of a grand Coalition against President Barrow in the 2026 presidential elections?
It is clear from these perspectives that UDP’s election of their flag bearer for the 2026 presidential elections has significant implications both for the party, and for democracy in The Gambia.
The immediate problem for the UDP now is for it to convince its members that it kept its promise that the selection of its flag bearer would be free, fair and transparent. Such a feat will provide legitimacy to the winning candidate and deprive the losing candidates grounds for disagreeing with the elections results.
In this regard, UDP has announced it will embark on a mission to reconcile its members to enable them have a credible contest of the 2026 presidential elections. This is very important because it would help avert the party’s breaking up, as it seems to be given that two party officials have resigned, citing their dissatisfaction with the selection of the party’s flagbearer and lack of faith in Darboe’s prospects for winning the 2026 presidential elections.
With Mayor Bensouda’s unexpected exit from the race for the UDP flag bearer, many Gambians are asking whether the party practices the democracy it preaches. Furthermore, many pundits maintain that Mayor Bensouda was the UDP’s best hope for winning the 2026 presidential elections because of his youthfulness, experience as a two-term Mayor, and huge base of supporters among Gambian youths, both in and outside of the UDP.
For this reason, many see Mayor Bensouda’s withdrawal from the UDP flag bearer race as well as his resignation as the party’s National Organising Secretary as the beginnings of the party’s breakup.
A breakup of the UDP for any reason would have huge implications for the 2026 presidential elections, and democracy in The Gambia. First, it would obviously weaken the Party going into the elections, and reduce its clout in efforts to form a Coalition against President Barrow in the 2026 elections. Given that the UDP, Lawyer Darboe especially, has in the past been seen as a hindrance to the formation of Coalitions, a weakened UDP would be less of a spoiler.
In that case, opposition parties would be able to form a Coalition without the UDP, and still mount a successful campaign against President Barrow come 2026. Given this prospect, one can conclude that the NPP might be jubilating a bit too early about Mayor Bensouda leaving the UDP because the result of his departure from the UDP could be a much more formidable opposition Coalition than anybody (including NPP supporters) can imagine.
It is thus ironic that the NPP is reportedly courting Mayor Bensouda to join them. One of Mayor Bensouda’s challenges moving forward with his political career is that the Local Government Commission hearings have not been flattering to him.
These hearings, which have been investigating the finances of Local Government Authorities and Municipalities in The Gambia, have brought to light malpractices in many of the LGAs and Munipalities, including KMC under Mayor Bensouda, and these findings will for a very long time hang around the Mayor’s neck.
Many Gambians believe that the LGA Commission was established by the Barrow government to conduct a witch hunt on UDP-held Municipalities and LGAs. As such, it would be ironic that the same Mayor Bensouda who was caught in a Barrow government dragnet, would now be a sought-after prize for the NPP. But such is politics, which often yields strange bedfellows.
The UDP elections for its flag bearer is thus important both for the party itself (because of the risk of its relegation into oblivion), and democracy in The Gambia (because of its possible impact on prospects for building a winning opposition Coalition in 2026 presidential elections). For these reasons, the party’s election of its flag bearer might very well go down as the opening salvo in the 2026 presidential elections, and a pivotal moment in Gambian history.
Dr. Katim Seringe Touray
