By Fatou Sillah
Momodou Satou Dibba has resigned as vice chairperson and a member of the Coalition 2026 Mediation Committee, saying he no longer has confidence in the direction of negotiations aimed at forging a united opposition ahead of The Gambia’s December 2026 presidential election.
In a resignation statement, Dibba said he joined the committee in his capacity as a governance and political affairs professional, hoping to contribute to efforts to unite opposition parties behind a common electoral strategy.
His decision to step down, he said, follows disagreements over the framework used to determine the coalition’s structure.
According to Dibba, the Coalition Mediation Committee had recommended a weighted voting system that would take into account the relative size, organizational strength, and electoral performance of participating political parties when deciding whether the opposition should pursue a party-led or candidate-led coalition.
Instead, he said, a majority of the participating political entities adopted a one-party, one-vote system, giving each party equal voting power regardless of its electoral strength. Dibba said that voting method ultimately led to the adoption of a candidate-led coalition model.
He said he and others who favored a party-led coalition expressed reservations about the voting process but chose to remain engaged in the negotiations, believing that consensus could still be reached.
Recent developments, however, have convinced him that those differences are unlikely to be resolved, he said.
“Rather than continuing to engage with a process I do not believe in, I herein respectfully end my role as Member and Vice Chairperson of the CMC with immediate effect,” Dibba said.
Despite his resignation, Dibba thanked the opposition parties and his fellow committee members for the opportunity to participate in the mediation process.
“I appreciate the opportunity the opposition political entities and my colleagues in the CMC accorded me to participate in these talks and wish them well,” he said.
Dibba added that he remains willing to support future opposition coalition negotiations that recognize factors such as party size, organizational presence, and previous electoral performance when determining representation and decision-making.
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