Saikou Sawo Calls for Compromise Among Political Leaders on Coalition Leadership

By Fatou Sillah

Saikou Sawo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), has called on political leaders to prioritize dialogue and compromise in determining leadership of a potential opposition coalition ahead of the December 5 presidential election.

Speaking in an interview on the For the People By the People program, Sawo emphasized that the question of coalition leadership is both sensitive and complex, requiring collective engagement rather than unilateral decisions by individual parties.

“I think political leaders need to sit together; we can all compromise and agree, because it is a very hard topic and you cannot dismiss the people these big political parties have today,” he said.

Sawo noted that while larger parties may point to their historical electoral performance as a basis for leadership claims, smaller parties and emerging movements should not be sidelined. He stressed that inclusivity and fairness must guide the process.

“I think the process should be fair. Because obviously, it is a great argument if parties have contested before and have historical data of votes, but we also have movements and smaller parties whose strength we are still trying to understand,” he added.

He further underscored the importance of bringing all relevant stakeholders together to avoid fragmentation and repeated political missteps.

“We need all those people in the same room to say, ‘Hey, we have seen this before; we don’t want a repeat of that,’” he said.

According to Sawo, compromise is essential to building a credible and widely accepted coalition that resonates with the Gambian electorate.

“We can all compromise and find that middle ground that works for all parties involved,” he stated.

He concluded by warning that a coalition formed without broad consultation and experienced input risks lacking public trust.

“If we involve different people—those with the experience and history—to sit together, we can build a formidable coalition that Gambians can believe in. Otherwise, a coalition formed with certain entities may not be convincing to the public,” he said.