The Vice Chairperson of the Coalition 2026 Mediation Committee (CMC), Momodou Satou Dibba, has resigned from the committee with immediate effect, citing disagreements over the voting mechanism guiding the opposition coalition talks.
In a letter dated 28 July 2026 and addressed to the Chairperson of the Coalition Mediation Committee, Prof. Yerro Mballow, Mr. Dibba said he could no longer continue participating in a process that he did not believe in.
Mr. Dibba, a retired United Nations senior governance and political affairs official, said he joined the Coalition 2026 Mediation Committee to support efforts aimed at building a united opposition ahead of the 2026 presidential election.
He explained that one of the committee’s responsibilities was to advise on the direction of the coalition talks, including the decision-making process.
According to him, the committee recommended a weighted voting system that would recognise the relative size of participating political entities when deciding between a party-led coalition and a candidate-led coalition.
However, he said the majority of the political entities opted instead for a one-entity, one-vote system.
“I joined Coalition-2026 Mediation Committee (CMC) as a governance and political affairs professional to support a unified political opposition.”
He added, “Part of the CMC’s responsibilities is to provide advice on the direction of the Talks, a key driver of which is voting by member political entities in decision-making. In this respect, the CMC advised weighted-voting, which recognises the relative sizes of different political entities, in deciding between Party-led and Candidate-led coalition types, but the majority of the political entities in the talks opted for a one-entity, one-vote mechanism, which pegged all political entities at the same level irrespective of size, and thus led to the adoption of the Candidate-led type.”
Mr. Dibba said concerns over the voting mechanism had been raised by some stakeholders, including political entities that supported a party-led coalition and himself.
Despite those concerns, he said they continued participating in the talks in the hope that the differences would eventually be resolved.
“Some Coalition-2026 stakeholders, including some political entities that supported Party-led type of coalition and myself, raised concerns regarding these developments, but nonetheless continued to participate in the Talks with the expectation that the differences, particularly regarding the voting mechanism, will eventually be reconciled.”
He said recent developments had convinced him that reconciliation on the issue was unlikely.
“With current developments and state of affairs, and with one-entity, one-vote mechanism continuing to determine the direction of the Talks, reconciliation is highly unlikely.”
Announcing his resignation, Mr. Dibba wrote, “Therefore, rather than continuing to engage with a process I do not believe in, I herein respectfully end my role as Member and Vice Chairperson of the CMC with immediate effect.”
He thanked the opposition political parties and his colleagues on the committee for the opportunity to serve.
“I appreciate the opportunity the opposition political entities and my colleagues in the CMC accorded me to participate in these Talks, and wish them well.”
Mr. Dibba said he remained willing to support future opposition coalition negotiations that take into account the relative strength of political parties.
“Meanwhile, I remain available to support any opposition political coalition talks that recognise party size, organisational presence, past electoral performance, etc. in their negotiations.”
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