By Staff Writer
Three candidates remain in the race to lead Coalition 2026 into December’s presidential election after Ambassador Essa Bokar Sey withdrew Friday, following unsuccessful efforts to forge a consensus among the contenders.
Talib Ahmed Bensouda, mayor of Kanifing and leader of the UNITE Party; lawyer Essa Mbye Faal, leader of APP-Sobeya; and Dr. Sidat Yaffa, leader of the Gambia Movement for Progress, are now expected to compete for the coalition’s presidential nomination.
Sey withdrew Friday afternoon, according to a source familiar with the coalition’s deliberations, saying he could not participate in a process that would ultimately be decided by a vote rather than consensus.
The withdrawal came after the four contenders met Thursday night at the Kotu residence of former Vice President Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang in an effort to agree on a single candidate. The discussions ended without an agreement, the source said.
In a letter to the Coalition Mediation Committee announcing his withdrawal, Sey said he was standing by his longstanding position that the coalition’s candidate should emerge through consensus.
“I remain on principle where consensus is principal,” Sey wrote.
He said the three other candidates had chosen to proceed to an election, prompting him to reaffirm his opposition to settling the contest through a vote.
“I wish to reiterate my stand, and that is consensus within, not voting,” he wrote.
Sey asked the committee to remove his name from the list of candidates if the selection process proceeds to a ballot, saying his preference remained “consensus among us, not selection through voting.”
Under Coalition 2026’s selection arrangement, each of its 11 participating political parties and movements is expected to nominate three representatives to take part in choosing the flag bearer, giving the process 33 potential voters if it goes to a ballot.
The three remaining candidates are expected to hold a final round of consultations Saturday morning in another attempt to reach an agreement before addressing coalition stakeholders and making their respective cases for the nomination.
If those talks fail to produce a consensus candidate, voting is expected to take place around midday.
A source familiar with the process said the coalition now appears increasingly likely to settle the contest through a vote after repeated efforts to reach a consensus failed.
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