UNITE’s Yaya Menteng Sanyang Dismisses UDP’s Showing in Foni and URR as ‘Performance’

By Makutu Manneh

Yaya Menteng Sanyang, vice chairman for finance and administration of the UNITE Party and National Assembly member for Latrikunda Sabiji, has dismissed the United Democratic Party’s recent show of support in Foni and the Upper River Region as a “performance,” arguing that large political gatherings do not necessarily translate into votes.

Speaking on Kerr Fatou’s The Brunch show, Sanyang, who said he has a background in the UDP, questioned the significance of the crowds the party has attracted during its recent political activities.

“UDP’s presence in Foni and URR was just a performance,” Sanyang said. “Politics of the crowd—my background is UDP; nobody will tell me about the crowd.”

Sanyang said UNITE believes elections are won through sustained grassroots organizing rather than the size of political rallies. He pointed to door-to-door campaigning and engagement with voters in villages, towns, markets, and garages as more important measures of political support.

“I challenge any political formation in this country to pull a crowd at SSP and Independence Stadium and challenge UNITE to do so,” he said. “We will pull it, and you are going to respect us.”

Sanyang also claimed that the UDP had lost ground in areas it previously considered strongholds, saying the party remained unwilling to acknowledge UNITE’s growing presence in those communities.

He predicted that the extent of that shift would become apparent when voters cast their ballots in the Dec. 5, 2026, presidential election.

Sanyang further claimed that thousands of people who publicly identify with the UDP privately support UNITE and its leader, Talib Ahmed Bensouda. Some of those supporters, he said, are reluctant to openly declare their allegiance but intend to vote for UNITE on Election Day.

He did not provide evidence during the interview to substantiate the number of UDP supporters he said had privately shifted their support to UNITE.