After two days of widespread rumours, Marie Sock, an independent presidential aspirant whose nomination was rejected by IEC on Saturday, has endorsed the candidacy of Ousainu Darboe.
Marie Sock is the first Gambian woman to ever file nomination papers for the presidency.
After her rejection, Marie issued a public apology to her supporters for failing to successfully renounce her US citizenship.
She is also the first presidential aspirant to endorse the UDP candidate as the race for State House heats up.
In a statement issued yesterday, Marie said: “I want to thank all of you for standing with me through this journey, supporting and endorsing my candidacy. We have come a long way together, and this is just the beginning.
A lot has happened to us in the past week, from filing our presidential nomination, disqualification by IEC, and now to make a decision of where to go next to continue the Alliance of Social Democrat’s vision.
This decision is not based on political interest, but for our national interest. ASD stands for goodwill ambassadors, goodwill politicians, we are on a journey to change the dynamics of Gambian politics, inshallah.
We all must be united in one common goal. We must continue to engage all political leaders and parties, civil societies, government agencies, private sectors and all Gambian citizens to reunite and work together for the betterment of our motherland.
We started this journey because we wanted to change the political system of this nation, and I have come to a decision that the United Democratic Party is one of the parties that aligns with our roadmap of development.
Today [Wednesday] the 10th of November 2021, our planning committee has concluded on behalf of Alliance of Social Democrats to join alliance with UDP to further promote our joint organization principles and policies.
His Excellency Honourable Ousainu Darboe and I have reached and concluded an agreement to join forces and uplift and rebrand the great party to climb the greater heights.
I encourage all the Marie Sock ambassadors, ASD members and all Gambians all over the world to stand with me in this new direction. We are going to use this opportunity to change the phase of politics in The Gambia. Join us to make the difference. Thank you.”
