By Hatab Nyang
The United Democratic Party (UDP) has officially withdrawn from the coalition-building process initiated by the Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD), saying irreconcilable differences over the structure of an opposition alliance have made it impossible for the party to continue participating.
The announcement was made by the party leader, Secretary General and Flagbearer, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, during a press conference held on Tuesday, 28 July 2026. The briefing was convened to officially communicate the UDP’s position on ongoing discussions among opposition political parties and civil society organisations aimed at forming a united front to contest the 2026 presidential election and unseat President Adama Barrow.
Addressing journalists, the party leader, Darboe said the UDP entered the coalition discussions in good faith after accepting an invitation from the ADD, which had brought together registered political parties, civil society organisations and political movements. He thanked the organisers for initiating the dialogue, saying the UDP had always believed that “the future of this country is greater than the ambition of any individual or any single political party.”
Darboe said throughout the discussions, the UDP had maintained a consistent and transparent position by advocating for a party-led alliance, arguing that such a model provides the strongest foundation for defeating the incumbent government while safeguarding democratic principles.
“We were very constructive, we were very honest, we were very sincere. We never minced words, we were never ambiguous in what our position has always been. The United Democratic Party has always believed that a party-led alliance is the proper foundation of any coalition. It is the viable foundation, it is the foundation that guarantees success at the polls,” he said.
Darboe said the principal disagreement during the 14 weeks of negotiations centred on whether the opposition should adopt a party-led or candidate-led alliance.
According to him, while the UDP listened to opposing arguments, the party remained convinced that a candidate-led arrangement would repeat mistakes made during the 2016 coalition.
He said merely resigning from a political party does not make a candidate politically independent and argued that internationally, successful pre-election coalitions are generally built around the strongest political parties.
Darboe reminded journalists that the UDP had consistently demonstrated willingness to enter alliances, recalling its participation in opposition arrangements in 2001, 2006 and 2011.
“We have never turned our backs on a united front intended to remove an incumbent,” he said, adding that the objective should not only be to remove a government but to establish a democratic political system that allows parties to compete fairly on their own merits.
Rejecting accusations that the UDP wanted to dominate the coalition, Darboe insisted the party had never demanded leadership of the alliance.
He said the UDP’s only non-negotiable position was that any coalition should be organised around political parties rather than individuals.
“We didn’t say that the United Democratic Party must lead the party-led coalition. We said it must be a party-led coalition, and if there’s an agreement that it should be party-led, then other considerations such as political strength would determine which party should lead,” he explained.
One of the major reasons cited for withdrawing from the ADD process was what Darboe described as unfair eligibility criteria proposed for selecting a coalition flagbearer.
He argued that some of the proposed requirements went beyond the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution and appeared deliberately designed to exclude the UDP’s preferred candidate.
Among the provisions he criticised was a requirement that a candidate must have no history of sabotaging coalition efforts or undermining joint candidates.
Darboe said the clause effectively targeted the UDP because political opponents had repeatedly accused the party of causing the collapse of the 2016 coalition.
“It is an insult to determine my eligibility on reasons other than those provided by the Constitution,” he declared.
“For several years our competence, credibility, integrity and service to this country have never been questioned.”
He said the party would not subject itself to criteria crafted by people who had long campaigned against the UDP.
Darboe also questioned the neutrality of members of the Coalition Management Council (CMC), alleging that some individuals serving as mediators had previously expressed clear preferences for particular coalition models before assuming their mediation roles.
He argued that the process appeared biased from the outset.
“We realised that there was something that was not completely right,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said the UDP remained optimistic throughout the negotiations and continued participating in constructive discussions in the hope that consensus could still be reached.
The UDP leader also rejected proposals for establishing a governing council to oversee a future coalition government.
According to him, such arrangements would conflict with constitutional provisions governing executive authority.
He argued that no political agreement should override the Constitution.
“UDP does not subscribe to political expediency at the expense of constitutionalism,” Darboe said.
He warned that agreeing to unconstitutional arrangements before elections would undermine good governance and create uncertainty once a coalition assumed office.
Darboe further criticised discussions that focused heavily on sharing government positions before agreeing on policy priorities.
He argued that unemployment, corruption, the economy and national development should take precedence over negotiations on ministerial or other public offices.
He also rejected proposals that would allocate governorships among coalition partners, saying governors should remain politically neutral civil servants rather than representatives of political parties.
According to him, politicising governorships had contributed to abuses in public administration, including the dismissal of local officials perceived to support opposition parties.
Another issue raised by Darboe was the coalition’s proposed voting arrangement, which he said gave equal voting rights to long-established political parties and newly formed political movements.
He argued that the UDP, with its nationwide structures, elected National Assembly Members, mayors and councillors accumulated over three decades, could not reasonably be treated the same as newly established organisations.
“You cannot equate UDP with a political movement that was just formed in 2026,” he said.
“We believe in an alliance built on fairness, honesty and democratic values.”
Darboe insisted that the UDP was not pursuing political office for its own sake but remained committed to principles it had defended since its formation.
“We are not in this because we definitely want to be president of this country. We are in this because we want to see a better Gambia,” he said.
“If we are to fail, we must fail by our principles. If we are to fall, we will fall by our principles. If we survive, we will survive by our principles.”
He added that the UDP would never abandon its convictions merely to gain public office.
Having participated in negotiations for 14 weeks, Darboe said the party had reached what he described as a “regrettable and unavoidable” decision.
The UDP, he announced, was officially withdrawing from the ADD coalition initiative.
He said the party had delayed preparing campaign materials and scaled back its political activities while awaiting the outcome of coalition talks, hoping a unified opposition arrangement would emerge.
“After all this… we now have come to the very regrettable and unavoidable decision that we are pulling out of the ADD coalition initiative,” Darboe declared.
Despite leaving the ADD process, Darboe stressed that the UDP had not abandoned efforts to build opposition unity.
He disclosed that the party would continue participating in coalition discussions being facilitated by APEC and expressed hope that those talks could produce a workable compromise.
“There are other coalition initiatives and we are very much part of that initiative. We’ll continue to participate in the discussions initiated by APEC and hope that we’ll be able to reach a reasonable compromise amongst participants,” he said.
Darboe used the occasion to invite political parties that shared the UDP’s vision to join forces with it.
He said a broader alliance built around the UDP would be capable of defeating President Barrow and what he described as the President’s “Grand Alliance.”
“We have shown that we alone could do it. But now if you have other political parties to join us, the task will be much easier,” he said.
The UDP leader concluded by outlining the priorities of any future alliance led by or associated with his party.
He pledged that such an alliance would fight corruption, eliminate nepotism, promote meritocracy, create employment opportunities for young people and improve support for farmers.
He criticised President Barrow’s promise to increase public sector salaries by 30 percent while, according to him, farmers had seen produce prices remain unchanged for years and had received delayed payments during the rainy season.
Darboe argued that farmers deserved greater national priority and said a UDP-led administration would place agriculture at the centre of national development.
“It is hard for me to make this announcement,” he told journalists, “but it is reality.”
During the question-and-answer session, Darboe rejected suggestions that the UDP intended to impose itself as leader of any future coalition.
He reiterated that the party’s position was solely that any alliance should be party-led rather than candidate-led.
“If it is agreed that it should be party-led and another political party provides convincing reasons why it should lead, we will accede to it,” he said.
Darboe also objected to claims that the UDP had frustrated coalition efforts, arguing that parties opposing the party-led model should equally be held accountable for the failure to reach consensus.
“Why should UDP be demonised?” he asked.
“We have always respected positions held by other people, and let other people also respect the positions held by us.”
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