Gambia’s main opposition leader, Ousainou Darboe, has rejected calls for his United Democratic Party (UDP) to join President Adama Barrow’s National People’s Party (NPP)-led alliance ahead of the December presidential election.
Speaking at a fundraising event in Switzerland on Saturday, Darboe said the UDP would not join another political camp against the wishes of its supporters.
Darboe said both former President Yahya Jammeh and Barrow had previously sought to bring the UDP into their political alliances, but neither effort succeeded.
He said the party’s continued independence was rooted in the support of its members and its commitment to its political principles.
Barrow’s NPP has recently secured the backing of several political figures and parties, including All People’s Party-Sobeyaa leader Essa Mbye Faal, Gambia Democratic Congress leader Mamma Kandeh and the Gambia Movement for Progress, led by Professor Sidat Yaffa.
Darboe’s rejection comes as parties consolidate alliances ahead of the December 5 presidential election, with the UDP and its partners pursuing a separate opposition coalition.
