By Fatou Sillah
Tensions have emerged within Coalition 2026 after the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) publicly declared its support for a coalition led by the United Democratic Party (UDP), exposing divisions over how the opposition should unite ahead of The Gambia’s 2026 presidential election.
The disagreement centers on a fundamental question that has shaped months of negotiations: whether the opposition alliance should rally behind an independent consensus candidate or be led by one of the established political parties.
Ebrima Cham, National Coordinator of PASTEF The Gambia and a participant in the coalition negotiations, said the PPP’s endorsement of a UDP-led alliance complicates efforts to build consensus among coalition members.
According to Cham, the public backing of one coalition member by another is inconsistent with the candidate-led model that he said has received the support of a majority of participants in the negotiations. He warned that such declarations risk deepening divisions within the coalition’s general assembly.
Cham said the Coalition 2026 framework was established to bring opposition parties together under a broad national platform rather than around any single political party. He argued that moving toward separate party-led arrangements could undermine that objective and weaken the coalition-building process.
He also said coalition members had already agreed on a process for selecting a flagbearer and cautioned that actions taken outside that framework could erode confidence in the negotiations.
“The endorsement of one coalition member political party by another member party within a party-led coalition framework not only undermines the ongoing coalition discussions; it also disregards the preference expressed by the majority, who supported an independent candidate-led coalition model,” Cham said.
Ousman Jobe, leader of the People’s Republican Party (PRP), also criticized coalition members who have publicly declared support for individual parties while negotiations remain underway.
Jobe said participating parties should respect the agreed process and avoid actions that could weaken trust among negotiating partners. He claimed that recent developments had already prompted some parties to begin exploring alternative political arrangements.
“If I were a leader of this coalition negotiation, I would have to ban all these people who are indicating that they are with UDP, because people cannot be arranging that coalition so that it can be successful, and you are destroying it,” Jobe said.
He added that a bloc of nine political parties was considering an alternative arrangement should the current Coalition 2026 framework fail, arguing that public endorsements made during the negotiations had undermined confidence in the process.
The dispute follows the PPP’s recent announcement that it favors a UDP-led alliance ahead of the 2026 presidential election, a position that has intensified debate within the opposition over the structure and leadership of any eventual coalition.
Despite the disagreements, negotiations among opposition parties remain ongoing as they seek to forge a united front capable of challenging President Adama Barrow in the 2026 presidential race. The central issue remains whether the alliance should be led by an independent consensus candidate or by one of the country’s established political parties.
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