By Seedy Jobe
The Secretary General and Party Leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), ANM Ousainu Darboe, has spoken publicly on the departure of several former party members, among them Kanifing Municipal Council Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda.
Speaking in an interview on State of Affairs aired on QTV Gambia, Darboe rejected suggestions that Bensouda was a “seasonal politician,” noting that he had been actively involved in the party since 2018.
“Talib was not seasonal. Of course, you cannot have the secretary, the organising secretary of a party, being seasonal,” Darboe said.
Asked whether Bensouda’s exit amounted to a betrayal, Darboe dismissed the notion, stressing that political affiliation is a matter of personal choice.
“When a person makes a choice of his political affiliation, I do not consider that as a betrayal. I shouldn’t go after him to cajole him because he is not indispensable,” he stated.
While acknowledging that some members had left the party, the UDP leader maintained that its core support base remained intact. He added that several of those who departed had previously been active in the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction and only joined the UDP in 2018, when they believed the party was gaining control of the government.
Addressing comments by Lamin J. Darboe suggesting the UDP struggles with internal democracy, Darboe said members who feel dissatisfied are free to leave.
“If he were a member, or anybody is a member of any party, and you find that that party is unable to manage its internal democracy, you have nothing to do with that party,” he remarked.
Darboe also reflected on the departure of Ebrima Dibba, describing it as personally upsetting but politically inconsequential.
“It shocked me not because his departure impacted on the fortunes of the party, but because of the personal relationship I had with him. But politically, has it really impacted me? No,” he said.
Reaffirming the UDP’s broad-based character, Darboe emphasized that the party remains open to all Gambians.
“The UDP is a mass movement and a mass party. Even if I say, ‘Look, you are not coming to the party,’ and you decide to vote for it, can I do anything about that? I cannot do anything about that,” he concluded.
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