Team Gambia 2026 Organizers Call for National Conference to Establish New Coalition

By Makutu Manneh

The coordinators of Team Gambia 2026 have called for a national conference on Saturday, Sept. 12, to formally establish the initiative as a political coalition ahead of The Gambia’s 2026 presidential election.

Halifa Sallah and Sidia Jatta, the coordinators of the initiative, announced the plan in a statement approved for release on Sept. 8, following a six-month consultation with political parties, political movements, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders.

The consultations culminated in an Aug. 29 meeting at Paradise Suites, where participants reviewed and adopted a report outlining proposals for building a broad political coalition.

According to the statement, participants unanimously endorsed a recommendation to convene what organizers described as a National Conference of willing stakeholders. The conference is expected to develop an agreement establishing Team Gambia 2026 as a coalition under Section 155 of the Elections Act and to approve a timetable and program for the electoral cycle beginning this year.

The initiative appears to be seeking a coalition that extends beyond an agreement among political parties and presidential contenders, with organizers proposing a network of forums representing different sectors of Gambian society.

Under the plan, Team Gambia 2026 would establish separate forums for presidential candidates, National Assembly members, local government representatives, farmers, workers, young people, women, people with disabilities, members of the diaspora, and victims of abuses documented by the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission. An expert forum is also proposed.

The organizers said the groups would help identify the priorities of their respective constituencies and shape the coalition’s manifesto and programs. They would also serve an oversight role in advocating for and monitoring the implementation of agreements, policies, and programs.

The statement said participants in the consultations concluded that the country’s current political environment does not provide what they consider a level playing field for a free and fair multiparty contest. That assessment was presented as the view of the participants.

They also criticized the absence of a presidential term limit, arguing that the failure to enact constitutional reforms since the change of government in 2017 has allowed what they described as the prospect of “self-perpetuating rule” to persist.

The organizers invoked the experience of Coalition 2016, the opposition alliance that defeated former President Yahya Jammeh. That coalition had proposed limiting its presidential candidate’s tenure as part of a broader transition agenda.

Team Gambia 2026 is proposing another transitional arrangement after this year’s election. According to the statement, participants favor an inclusive transitional government that would undertake time-bound constitutional and institutional reforms while seeking to create a more equitable environment for future elections.

The organizers framed the initiative as an attempt to bring together Gambians at home and abroad around a common political program rather than one centered solely on individual politicians.

“It has dawned on all participants that only an organised leadership and people can ensure that a coalition or a government exists for them and not for a few,” the statement said.

Mr. Sallah and Mr. Jatta said they hoped the Sept. 12 conference would move the initiative from months of consultations toward the creation of a formal coalition and an agreed political program for the 2026 electoral cycle.