Lamin J Darboe, Leader of NUP
By Fatou Sillah
Lamin J. Darboe, Party Leader and Secretary General of the National Unity Party (NUP), has said it is possible for an opposition party to defeat an incumbent government in The Gambia if the country’s public life and political system are properly managed.
Speaking during a recent television interview, Darboe challenged the widely held belief that an incumbent government cannot be removed by a single opposition party without the formation of a coalition. He argued that this perception is not inevitable but rather a consequence of how state power is exercised and controlled.
“I am of the view that if we manage our public life properly then certainly there is a possibility for an opposition party to unseat an incumbent. There is that possibility,” Darboe said.
He rejected claims that it is impossible for an opposition party to defeat an incumbent, describing such views as a reflection of governance shortcomings rather than political reality.
“To say it is impossible is itself a commentary on our refusal to govern ourselves properly, we are not governing ourselves properly, We are just giving power and leaving it to the man at the statehouse at any given time,” he said.
Darboe explained that the challenges facing opposition parties do not stem from the inherent strength of ruling parties, but from the tendency of incumbents to monopolize public power and resources to maintain their grip on office.
“When you come to office, you monopolize public power, you do what you want to do to remain in power indefinitely. So that is not because in our case, the NPP is a big party that you cannot challenge,” he said.
According to him, the real issue lies in the concentration of power and the failure to create an inclusive political space that serves the broader interests of the country.
“It is a question of the monopoly that is created by the incumbent. The unwillingness to create a space that would cater to the needs of the country,” he added.
Darboe further noted that this pattern is not unique to the current administration, arguing that similar practices have been evident under previous governments operating within the same political framework.
“They think about how we can enhance ourselves, our own political fortunes using the public space, using public power, using public resources. That is what Barrow is doing, that was what Yahya Jammeh did, that was what Sir Dawda did,” he said.
He emphasized that the debate should not focus on individual leaders, but rather on the structure and exercise of public power within the state.
“It is not the individual, it is just the capturing of the state by a segment of society to advance a personal or sectional idea or sectional power. If somebody else comes to power and we have the same mentality, the same system obviously that is what is going to happen,” Darboe said.
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