By Fatou Sillah
As opposition parties continue negotiations over a unified front for this year’s presidential election, a senior figure in the Unite Movement for Change said any coalition must be built around competence rather than political convenience, and predicted that the eventual alliance would be strong enough to defeat President Adama Barrow.
Yahya Menteng Sanyang, the party’s deputy leader for administration and finance and the National Assembly member for Latrikunda Sabiji, said in an interview that the guiding principle for any coalition candidate should be a demonstrated record of capability and integrity.
“During a coalition, I always emphasize, let’s go for a candidate with a track record of competence, capacity and trust,” Mr. Sanyang said.
He confirmed that talks among opposition parties were continuing and expressed confidence that the discussions would yield a coalition capable of mounting a serious challenge to Mr. Barrow in the 2026 election.
“Certainly there is going to be a formidable coalition against Barrow in 2026,” he said.
Sanyang described his party’s approach to the negotiations as one rooted in parity among the various political actors involved, rather than the absorption of smaller parties by a dominant one. He said the goal was to unite competing movements under a shared structure without erasing their individual identities.
“For UNITE, our thought is not like, ‘Come, we swallow you.’ We are like mutual survival of every political party or movement in this country if a coalition is formed,” he said.
He added that whatever framework emerged from the talks would have to operate within the bounds of the country’s constitution, regardless of the specific terms parties agreed to among themselves.
“There is no way any agreement or framework that comes out of this political process can supersede our constitution,” he said.
Mr. Sanyang said the negotiations were ultimately intended to produce a single candidate who would represent the coalition in next year’s race.
“Any candidate that comes out of this process will be the candidate for the 2026 coalition,” he said.
He closed by urging Gambians to remain confident in the outcome of the talks.
“I can tell Gambians, let’s get relaxed — there is going to be a formidable coalition against Barrow,” he said. “They will be able to unseat Barrow in the 2026 presidential election.”
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