By Makutu Manneh
The People’s Progressive Party’s deputy national treasurer sought on Saturday to dispel growing uncertainty surrounding the party’s presidential nomination, saying Saikou Sawo has not yet been formally confirmed as its flag-bearer for The Gambia’s Dec. 5 election.
Karafa Sambou, who holds the post, said Mr. Sawo should be considered an aspiring candidate, despite a January news conference at which he was publicly introduced as the party’s standard-bearer.
Appearing on Kerr Fatou’s weekly public affairs program, The Brunch, Mr. Sambou said the party had opened applications for the flag-bearer position, with a deadline of Feb. 7, 2026, emphasizing that the process remains open to other interested contenders.
“Just because someone is aspiring does not mean others with interest should stop,” Mr. Sambou said.
Mr. Sawo appeared alongside the PPP’s secretary general, Ousman Madikay Faal, at the January briefing, where he was introduced as the party’s presidential candidate—an announcement that prompted speculation that the nomination had already been settled.
But Mr. Sambou offered a different account, emphasizing that the PPP’s constitution outlines formal procedures for selecting candidates.
He said Mr. Sawo recently joined the party with his team and now holds a membership card after encountering difficulties registering his own political organization. Mr. Sambou acknowledged that the party’s executive had expressed support for Mr. Sawo but insisted that no official endorsement had yet been finalized.
“There is a process, and that is what he is going through,” he said.
Pressed on whether the executive’s apparent preference could discourage other aspirants, Mr. Sambou pushed back.
“We did not endorse him,” he said. “Our mandate is to ensure the PPP contests all elections, and it is the job of the executive to make that happen. But that does not close the door for others.”
The People’s Progressive Party, once The Gambia’s dominant political force under former President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara from 1962 to 1994, remains active today, though its influence has waned significantly since losing power more than three decades ago.
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