Essa Faal: December Election Is ‘Dead and Buried,’ Barrow Has Already Won

By Makutu Manneh

Essa Mbye Faal, the leader of APP-Sobeyaa, said Sunday that he considered the December presidential election effectively over and declared President Adama Barrow the winner, as he formally joined the governing National People’s Party-led alliance.

Speaking at State House during a ceremony formalizing the alliance between APP-Sobeyaa and Mr. Barrow’s NPP, Mr. Faal said he was no longer focused on contesting the Dec. 5 election and would instead turn his attention to working with the president. The two leaders signed their alliance agreement on Sunday.

“The election is over and is dead and buried,” Mr. Faal said. “I’m no more thinking about the election because Adama Barrow has already won the election.”

Mr. Faal said his focus had shifted from the presidential contest to what he described as the broader task of advancing the country.

“What we are thinking about now is what will take the country forward,” he said.

The declaration marks a striking turn for Mr. Faal, who had been preparing to challenge Mr. Barrow in the election and had emerged as one of the president’s most outspoken political critics. APP-Sobeyaa confirmed last week that it had reached an agreement in principle with the NPP, setting the stage for Sunday’s formal alliance.

Mr. Faal also confirmed that he would no longer seek the presidency in December and acknowledged that his decision had disappointed some of his supporters.

“I feel your pain because you were having hope on something, but that did not happen,” he said. “This is what is destined to be.”

He apologized to supporters who had expected him to remain in the race, describing the political turn as an outcome ordained by God and asking them to accept his decision.

Mr. Faal said his supporters had not seen what he had seen before making the decision to join forces with Mr. Barrow, suggesting that his assessment of the political landscape had led him to conclude that an alliance with the president was the better course.

He appealed for understanding and forgiveness from supporters angered by the move.

The alliance has already exposed divisions within APP-Sobeyaa. A group of founding members and senior officials publicly rejected Mr. Faal’s decision last week, saying the proposed alliance had not followed the party’s internal procedures and calling for his resignation as party leader.

Mr. Faal’s declaration that Mr. Barrow has already won remains a political assertion made more than two months before Gambians are scheduled to vote. The presidential election is set for Dec. 5.