By Fatou Sillah
Essa Mbye Faal, leader of APP-Sobeya, said opposition parties involved in Coalition 2026 have moved beyond disagreements over the structure of the alliance, with more than two-thirds of the participants supporting a candidate-led model.
In an interview with West Coast Radio, Mr. Faal said opposition leaders were continuing negotiations aimed at presenting a united front in the 2026 presidential election. He argued that the opposition’s best chance of defeating President Adama Barrow would be to rally behind a single candidate, though he acknowledged that reaching a consensus would be difficult.
Coalition members initially held differing views over how the alliance should be organized. Some advocated for a party-led coalition, while others favored selecting an individual candidate to lead the opposition bloc.
“Right now, we have passed the issue of the model in the conversation, even though some people are seeking to take us back to the question of the coalition model,” Mr. Faal said. “We have agreed that we are accepting candidate-led; over two-thirds of the people agree.”
Mr. Faal said coalition participants favored the candidate-led approach partly because of concerns that a party-led arrangement could allow one political party to dominate the government if the opposition wins the election.
“If we accept a party-led coalition, after the election, if we win, the party will take everything, and that is not how it is supposed to be,” he said. “That is why it was decided that it is going to be candidate-led, and that discussion is over.”
He added that those who participated in the negotiations had agreed to move forward under the candidate-led model.
“Everybody who was present in the discussions decided that we will go with the candidate-led model, so the party-led model is behind us,” he said. “Now we have to look forward.”
Mr. Faal stressed that participation in the coalition remained voluntary and that no political party was being compelled to join or remain in the alliance.
He urged Gambians to support efforts to unify the opposition, saying the coalition’s leadership should be determined through consensus rather than imposed by an individual or political party.
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