Lamin Manneh, UDP Executive Member
By Fatou Sillah
The United Democratic Party will only enter a political coalition if its longtime leader, Ousainou Darboe, is accepted as the coalition’s presidential candidate, a senior party official said, drawing a firm line as opposition groups begin positioning themselves ahead of the next elections.
Lamin Manneh, the party’s deputy administrative secretary for external affairs, said in an interview with Mustapha K. Darboe on his verified podcast that the question of leadership was “not negotiable,” emphasizing that Mr. Darboe’s role as flag bearer and party leader was settled within the UDP.
“That is not negotiable, let’s be clear. You can’t ask us to go to another flag bearer selection because you don’t like Ousainu,” Mr. Manneh said. “Ousainu is our candidate, Ousainu is our flag bearer, and Ousainu is our party leader, so if you are going to work with us, you have to first accept that Ousainu is going to be our flag bearer for the next election.”
Beyond leadership, Mr. Manneh said, any coalition would have to be grounded in shared policy priorities, warning that alliances formed without common programs would struggle to present a credible agenda to voters.
“Policy alignment is important,” he said. “If you come to an agreement to work together as a set of parties but you don’t agree on policy and programs and agendas, so what do we say to the Gambian people?”
Mr. Manneh described Mr. Darboe as a widely respected figure whose appeal rests on his principles and development agenda, arguing that the UDP wants him to lead not just in name but with a distinctly UDP platform.
“Ousainou is loved in this country because of his principles, his stance on development, and what he is proposing to the Gambian people,” he said. “That is what we want to sustain.”
He also ruled out arrangements that would sideline Mr. Darboe or replicate what he portrayed as the fragmented dynamics of the 2016 coalition, when several candidates from allied parties later pursued independent political paths. “That’s not negotiable,” he said. “We want to do this, but we have to be realistic.”
Mr. Manneh framed the UDP’s platform as people-centered rather than narrowly focused on infrastructure, arguing that prospective partners must share a broader vision. “Our agenda is primarily people-based, and all sectors support that agenda. Roads alone are not enough; partners must share the same vision,” he said.
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