By Makutu Manneh
A prominent member of the ruling National People’s Party (NPP), Fafa Sanyang, has expressed confidence that the party will prevail in the December presidential election, dismissing the electoral strength of any potential opposition coalition.
Speaking on Kerr Fatou’s Politic Kaacha programme, Mr. Sanyang said the NPP remained focused on governance and would not be unsettled by attempts by opposition parties to unite ahead of the polls.
He suggested that within any potential coalition, the United Democratic Party (UDP) would remain the only party with a meaningful support base.
“The GDC is no more; its people are scattered,” he said, referring to the opposition Gambia Democratic Congress. “The rest of the parties in the coalition will not be a threat to us because there is no party except the UDP that you can say has a base.”
Mr. Sanyang added that parliamentary and local government representation was the clearest measure of a party’s strength, arguing that most opposition groups lacked such institutional presence.
His comments drew pushback from fellow panelist Malick Camara, leader of the Alliance for Democratic Development (ADD), who questioned how Mr. Sanyang assessed political strength, particularly given the presence of former opposition figures now aligned with the NPP, including Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Mai Fatty, and Henry Gomez.
In response, Mr. Sanyang said those politicians had joined the ruling party because they recognized its electoral advantage.
“They knew they had no base, which is why they joined the NPP because they know it is in power and can win elections,” he said.
He further asserted that the NPP’s support in its strongholds alone would outweigh that of the opposition.
“Our Jimara constituency votes alone; if you add 10 opposition together, they will not have more than our votes,” he said.
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