Alhagie S. Darboe Says Brikama Will Deliver Presidency to Ousainu Darboe in December

By Seedy Jobe

Alagie S. Darboe, the minority leader of the National Assembly and senior administrative secretary of the United Democratic Party (UDP), has declared that Brikama will play a decisive role in electing opposition leader Ousainu Darboe as The Gambia’s fourth president in the December 5 presidential election.

Speaking at a political rally over the weekend in Mansaring Suu, Brikama, the lawmaker said the community’s support reflected a broader desire for political change across the West Coast Region and the country.

He described the gathering as a demonstration of growing support for the UDP leader, arguing that the political influence of Brikama extended well beyond the town.

According to Mr. Darboe, when Mansaring Suu speaks, its message resonates across Suba Ward, Marakissa Ward, Brikama, the West Coast Region and ultimately the entire country.

He said the UDP leader’s presidential campaign was built around a central message: “One term, one mission, national renewal.”

Mr. Darboe argued that Gambians had voted for political change in 2016 with expectations of a new era of governance, but that those aspirations had not been fulfilled under President Adama Barrow.

He described the December election as another opportunity for voters to pursue the democratic renewal they had sought a decade earlier.

Expressing confidence in the UDP’s electoral prospects, Mr. Darboe said the party could draw reassurance from Brikama’s support, which he portrayed as a significant indicator of the national political mood.

He pointed to Brikama’s historical influence in Gambian politics, arguing that the town had played important roles in the political rise of the country’s three presidents: Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, Yahya Jammeh and Adama Barrow.

He maintained that Brikama was now prepared to play a similar role in making Ousainu Darboe the country’s fourth president.

Reflecting on the political upheaval of 2016, Mr. Darboe recalled the imprisonment of Ousainu Darboe and other senior UDP officials on July 22 of that year.

He said the arrests had prompted predictions that the party would collapse without its longtime leader, but that the UDP had demonstrated its resilience by continuing its political activities.

According to the lawmaker, the party held its first campaign rally following the arrests in Brikama on July 31, 2016.

He recalled how residents welcomed Mariam B. Secka and her delegation from Gambia College, accompanying them from the mosque to the Brikama Youth Centre, where the rally took place.

Mr. Darboe also challenged President Barrow’s account of that gathering, disputing remarks attributed to the president about the sequence of speakers and the circumstances surrounding his emergence as a presidential candidate.

According to the lawmaker, Mr. Barrow had claimed that Mariam B. Secka addressed the rally first, followed by Dembo By Force and then himself, suggesting that his performance at the event contributed to his eventual selection as a candidate.

Mr. Darboe rejected that account, saying the speakers appeared in a different order.

He identified Yusupha Cham, then the UDP’s West Coast regional chairman, as the first speaker, followed by Dembo By Force, Mr. Barrow and Mariam B. Secka.

He added that he personally delivered the party’s official statement on behalf of its imprisoned secretary general and leader, Ousainu Darboe.

The lawmaker also took issue with remarks attributed to President Barrow in which the president reportedly likened himself to an elephant hunter who would have little difficulty killing a small hen.

Mr. Darboe interpreted the comparison as an attempt to diminish the political standing of the UDP leader, whose support he said had been instrumental in Mr. Barrow’s rise to the presidency.

He argued that during the 2016 campaign, the enthusiasm that greeted Mr. Barrow across the country was largely rooted in Ousainu Darboe’s political popularity and the UDP’s established support base.

According to him, chants heard during the campaign tour from Barra to Basse were originally expressions of support for Ousainu Darboe rather than Mr. Barrow.

“It is Darboe’s name that marketed you. He’s the one who made you who you are. You cannot say he is a small hen,” Mr. Darboe said.

He maintained that the UDP leader’s political influence had helped introduce Mr. Barrow to voters nationwide and contributed significantly to his victory in the 2016 presidential election.

Mr. Darboe said it was therefore inappropriate for the president to belittle a political figure whose support, he argued, had been central to his emergence as a national leader.