By Makutu Manneh
Malick Camara, secretary general and leader of the Alliance for Democracy and Development, said this week that his party would throw its support behind a coalition led by the United Democratic Party ahead of December’s presidential election, arguing that defeating President Adama Barrow requires backing the opposition’s largest and most organized force.
Speaking on Kerr Fatou’s “Politic Kaacha” program, Mr. Camara said any opposition grouping unwilling to partner with the UDP misunderstood what it would take to unseat the incumbent, and that he could not align himself with such an effort.
“I understand that I cannot challenge Adama Barrow because I don’t have the muscles to do it, but UDP has made an establishment countrywide, cluster by cluster, ward by ward, constituency by constituency, region by region,” he said.
Mr. Camara acknowledged that his own party lacked the capacity to mount a serious challenge to Mr. Barrow on its own, arguing that the UDP possessed the organizational structure and geographic reach needed, with a presence extending down to the cluster and ward level across the country. He noted that the party currently holds seats in the National Assembly, as well as council seats, four chairperson positions, and mayoral posts.
Given that level of representation, he said, it would be unreasonable to expect the UDP to enter a coalition on the basis of equal voting power with smaller parties. He said his party’s decision to back a UDP-led coalition was driven above all by a desire to bring about political change.
Mr. Camara’s announcement comes amid opposition coalition talks that many observers believe have effectively broken down. His party, which helped initiate the coalition discussions, said the process has since splintered into separate candidate-led and party-led factions ahead of the December vote.
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