By Fatou Sillah
The United Democratic Party’s (UDP) Senior Administrative Secretary, Alagie S. Darboe, has said that Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda’s decision to leave the party was entirely his personal choice, emphasizing that he would not describe it as an act of betrayal.
Speaking in an interview with QTV, Mr. Darboe said the UDP would have preferred that Mayor Bensouda and his team remain within the party, but their departure was a decision they were free to make.
“I will not say he had betrayed; I will not use the word ‘betrayal’ on him,” he said.
He explained that just as Mayor Bensouda had voluntarily joined the UDP, he equally chose to leave on his own accord. “He has decided to join the party at his own convenience; at one point he had decided to leave the party, so for that, the decision is entirely his. It would be unfair for me to say that he has betrayed the party; we were not expecting he would leave that way,” he added.
Mr. Darboe also defended the UDP’s recent flagbearer selection process, describing it as fair, transparent, and conducted in accordance with the party’s established procedures.
“In our view, the process was very free, fair, and transparent. That is the position of the party as well as the position of the panel,” he said.
He, however, expressed disappointment that Mayor Bensouda did not use the party’s internal mechanisms to address his grievances. “If you are aggrieved by the decision, you can take it up and challenge the decision. I would love that he respects our rules and guidelines,” Mr. Darboe noted.
When asked about Lamin J. Darboe, another UDP member who left the party, he reiterated that all those who applied to contest under the UDP had agreed to abide by its rules and procedures. “Whoever was an applicant, we have accepted the rules and the guidelines. On that basis, that was my expectation,” he said.