MC Cham Jr. Business Councillor at Kanifing Municipal Council
By Fatou Sillah
MC Cham Jr., a business councillor at the Kanifing Municipal Council and a member of the Unite Movement for Change (UMC), said Gambians would reject both the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) and the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) in the 2026 presidential election, arguing that voters are seeking a new political culture.
Speaking in an interview, Mr. Cham said the electorate was increasingly disillusioned with what he described as politics characterized by insults, tribalism, and personal attacks, and that the UMC offered a credible alternative.
“Gambians will reject the NPP and the UDP in the 2026 presidential elections. Gambians want a different type of politics which is not politics of insults and personal attacks and they have seen a solution to that which is the UMC under Talib Bensouda which is here to remove politics of tribalism and personal attacks,” he said.
Mr. Cham said the UMC was confident of winning the election with or without a coalition, noting that a significant portion of the electorate does not formally align with any political party.
“With or without a coalition we are going to win the 2026 presidential elections. Fifty percent of Gambians are not affiliated with any party and many people who were with President Barrow left him many who were with the UDP left the party,” He Said.
He added that support for the UMC extended beyond its public membership, claiming that individuals from the NPP, UDP, and other parties were quietly backing the movement.
“Many people are in the UDP and NPP and other parties and they are contributing financially to the UMC but they did not announce it,” he said.
On the issue of opposition coalition talks, Mr. Cham said he supported unity but opposed any arrangement that imposed leadership on other parties.
“I am not against the coalition. What I am against is that a party saying every other party should be behind me for us to do a coalition,” He Said.
He said leadership within any coalition should be determined through transparent and inclusive processes rather than by party size alone.
“Numbers do not matter in a coalition,” he said. “The coalition I believe in is due process, with open primaries where every candidate presents themselves and delegates vote.”
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