Assan Martin Says Bensouda Could Reclaim 2021 Protest Votes, Draw Support From NPP and GDC

By Seedy Jobe

Lawyer Assan Martin, the spokesperson for Coalition 2026, says discussions for his coalition, led by Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda and the UDP-led alliance, could be possible as opposition parties explore a united front to compete against President Adama Barrow and the NPP alliance.

Mr. Martin made these remarks during an interview with Kerr Fatou on Thursday when asked whether the two blocs could join together as one.

Mr. Martin said he saw a newspaper headline yesterday about a possible merger between Coalition 2026 under Mayor Bensouda and the UDP under Hon. Ousainou Darboe. He said his side is not refusing talks and that discussions can happen, but emphasized that such talks should not be confrontational.

According to Mr. Martin, politics should not be driven by temper, and any engagement must be guided by truth and strategic thinking.

He described the UDP as a decent party, emphasizing that the current state of Gambian politics may warrant opposition unity.

Mr. Martin said that although Mayor Bensouda has never contested for the presidency, available data shows he commands significant support, particularly among young people. He likened the momentum around Bensouda to an Obama-type phenomenon in the United States, where the younger generation demanded change.

He said politics is about vote attraction, which he described as Barack Obama’s biggest weapon.

The Coalition 2026 mouthpiece said that Bensouda has the capacity to win back protest votes from the 2021 election and to pull support from both the GDC and the NPP. “Talib can win back the protest votes. What Talib can pull today from the GDC, and what Talib can pull from the NPP—that is what you are looking for,” he said.

He underscored that while President Barrow won with 400,000 votes in the last election, a strategic candidate like Talib could easily secure that number and amplify opposition votes.

“They said Barrow went with 400,000 votes, but if you look at it today strategically, if you put Talib there, he can easily grab that. That is mostly what can happen, because we want to make sure the votes are amplified,” he said.

He underscored that the opposition does not rule out anything, adding that both sides should advise themselves and be strategic despite their differences.

Mr. Martin also called on Team Gambia to assess where they can converge on policies and programmes. He said even if he were offered ten or fifty million dalasis, he wouldn’t compete with where Talib Bensouda is today politically.

“Today, if anyone had to give me ten or fifty million dalasis to tell me to go and compete with Talib where he is today, I wouldn’t do it, because he has already gone far beyond me,” he said.

He said that the recommendation for opposition unity is a good one, but ultimately it lies in the hands of the people, adding that in politics anything can happen.