By Seedy Jobe
The Gambia First Coalition said this week that its ambitions extend well beyond the presidency, encompassing a broader effort to reform the country’s political culture and to coordinate its strategy across every level of government, from the National Assembly down to local councils.
Speaking in an interview with Kerr Fatou on Thursday, the coalition’s co-chair and interim spokesman, Momodou Satou Dibba, said its reform agenda could not succeed if it stopped at the presidency. He argued that the country’s changing demographics demanded a new approach to politics altogether.
Mr. Dibba said The Gambia now had a younger, more educated population with different expectations of its leaders, and that the practice of politics needed to evolve accordingly. If it came to power, he said, the coalition would prioritize what he called professional politics over partisan politics.
National interest, he said, should take precedence over party interest. To that end, the coalition is proposing a culture of consultation in which major decisions affecting national security and the economy would involve input from the opposition.
“We will build that into the consultation to create confidence between the ruling party and the opposition,” Mr. Dibba said, adding that such a practice would help establish a new political culture and set an example for younger Gambians.
On the question of elections beyond the presidency, Lamin Manneh, the United Democratic Party’s deputy administrative secretary for external affairs, said the coalition agreement would cover the full electoral cycle rather than end after the presidential vote.
Mr. Manneh said the partnership would extend to National Assembly, mayoral, chairmanship, and councilor elections, with seats allocated through negotiation based on each party’s relative strength in a given area. In constituencies where the UDP has a strong base, he said, the seat would be left to the UDP; in areas where another partner, such as the People’s Progressive Party, is stronger, the coalition would rally behind that party instead.
“So we will do that in the parliamentary, mayoral, chairmanship, and councilorship elections,” Mr. Manneh said.
Both men said the coalition’s overarching goal was unity and efficiency across every level of government, not simply at the top.
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