By Fatou Sillah
The spokesperson for Coalition 2026, lawyer Assan Martin, says that deepening economic hardship across The Gambia has made it untenable for citizens to continue supporting President Adama Barrow, and that widespread public frustration is fueling the formation of a unified opposition front ahead of next year’s elections.
Speaking in an interview with West Coast Radio, Mr. Martin cited rising costs of living, persistent electricity shortages, inadequate water supply, and high unemployment as evidence of what he described as a failure of leadership under Mr. Barrow’s government. He said the conditions facing ordinary Gambians had created a groundswell of demand for change.
“This country is a joke, to be honest,” Mr. Martin said. “President Adama Barrow—failure of total leadership. Gambians cannot afford Barrow.”
He said dissatisfaction with the government was not confined to any single part of the country, but was visible and widespread. “Most Gambians want Barrow out because they are tired,” he said. “They live under hardship.”
Mr. Martin framed Coalition 2026 as a political rescue effort, arguing that the reform agenda that brought Mr. Barrow to power in the historic 2016 election—which ended more than two decades of authoritarian rule under Yahya Jammeh—has gone largely unfulfilled. He said the coalition was designed to unite a range of political actors around a shared national program, placing collective interest above party loyalty or personal ambition.
Mr. Barrow, who was re-elected in 2021, has presided over a government that supporters credit with maintaining stability and democratic progress, but critics say has struggled to translate political transition into meaningful economic improvement for ordinary citizens.
Mr. Martin did not specify which parties or figures had formally joined the coalition, but said the effort was continuing to build.
Comments are closed.