Dear Editor,
Mamma Kandeh’s decision to align himself and the GDC with President Adama Barrow’s National People’s Party (NPP) Alliance is currently the biggest political conversation in The Gambia.
True to Gambian type public opinion is sharply divided on this move. While some see it as a legitimate democratic realignment, others take it as a case of political opportunism, dishonesty and inconsistency.
Yet in the bigger scheme of things and in a policy analysis perspective, the real significance of this development may be seen far beyond the calculated or otherwise moves of one politician.
It tells something significant about the emergence and continuous evolution of New Gambia. Since the famous democratic transition of 2016, coalition politics has gradually become the new reality of the Gambian political system.
The country has had a long history of political defections dating back to the days of the early anticolonial movement parties, but more than any historic shift. It is the Coalition 2016 that changed the country’s party-political landscape most fundamentally.
For the first time, parties with different ideologies and political histories united around a common national objective; to remove the dictatorial regime and replace it with democratic dispensation.
Whether one supported that coalition or not, it must be said that it has proved one important lesson: in today’s Gambia, broad political alliances are increasingly becoming the pathway to national power, and even in a global context, political coalitions are not unique to the Gambia.
Across Africa, in national and subnational politics, party coalitions have become the norm. Kenya, Senegal and Nigeria have all witnessed political alliances and defections that reshaped electoral outcomes in their countries.
And even mature democracies such as Germany and the United Kingdom regularly form coalition governments when no single party commands enough national support in an election. At the end of the day, democracy is not weakened by coalition-building.
In many cases, a coalition framework is strengthened by political compromise, and power sharing among partners. That said, coalition politics also raises an important question.
When does political flexibility and realignment of ideas, priorities and strategies become political opportunism?
In theory democracy allows political leaders to change course as personal and party circumstances and fortunes evolve, economic realities change, national priorities shift and new opportunities for cooperation emerge.
But on the other side, citizens also deserve an honest explanation whenever long standing political opponents suddenly become political partners.
This question is not an attack on individual players in a democracy. It is infact democracy at work in its truest form.
Political leaders earn public trust not simply by forming alliances but by explaining and leading actions that demonstrate how those alliances will serve the overall national interest.
The real challenge facing every political coalition therefore is not winning elections but maintaining the course of power in the effective and responsive governance of the country.
At the end of the day, the question on our lips as citizens is; will the alliance partners of NPP continue to work with President Barrow not only in pursuit of their personal and individual party interest but the crustal tasks of creating jobs for young people, strengthening democratic institutions, improving education, healthcare, environment protection, national and public security, and public services, accelerating economic growth, and modernising Gambian society as a whole.
Ultimately, citizens vote for concrete and measurable results, not political symbolism and bravado.
The true measure of political maturity lies not in who joins whom, but in whether political leaders restrain themselves and place national interest above personal ambition and whether coalition agreements are built on clear policies rather than political convenience.
Political alliances will always change, electoral strategies will evolve, personal relationships among politicians will come and go, but the values that sustain democracy; integrity, transparency, accountability, and service to the people will remain constant.
Coalitions may win elections, but only good governance wins the confidence of history.
Alhaji Kemo Conteh
Founder and Senior Partner
Governance and Development Management Services