The Nationalist Alternative for Gambia Party (NAfGP) which describes itself as “a political project-cum-party in formation”, has announced its decision to endorse the Candidate-led Coalition 2026 under the stewardship of Mayor Talib Bensouda.
In a statement sent to The Standard towards the weekend, NAfGP led by Retired Captain Joseph Paul Jassey, wrote: “Having closely followed the political developments, national conversations and coalition-building efforts, we have concluded that the circumstances before our country call for something greater than the pursuit of partisan advantage. They call for national convergence, political maturity and a renewed sense of responsibility to the Gambian people.
“NAfGP was conceived as a political project rooted in a clear conviction: The Gambia requires a politics founded upon sovereignty, constitutionalism, institutional reform, accountability, integrity, and social and economic transformation. Our purpose has never been simply to add another name to the political landscape. It has been to present an alternative political ideology that changes the logic of how our country is governed towards the building of a state in which institutions work, public resources are protected, citizens are empowered, and government is conducted as a public trust.
“It is precisely because of this conviction that NAfGP has chosen to participate in the wider political convergence represented by the candidate-led Coalition 2026. Our endorsement is therefore an expression of political responsibility, not political surrender. NAfGP enters this convergence without abandoning its identity, principles or national vision. We bring to it our own convictions, our own ideas and our commitment to a constitutional and transformative Gambian state.
We recognise that political organisations will not always agree on every matter. Nor should they. A mature democracy does not demand uniformity of thought. It demands the capacity to identify those matters on which the national interest requires us to stand together.
For NAfGP, those matters include constitutional governance, respect for the rule of law, national sovereignty, accountable institutions, the fight against corruption, competent public administration, economic self-reliance, social justice and the creation of meaningful opportunities for the Gambian people. We therefore regard coalition-building not as the erasure of political identity, but as an opportunity for principled convergence…
“It is in that spirit that NAfGP places its political weight behind the candidate-led Coalition 2026 under the stewardship of Mayor Talib Bensouda… We shall engage constructively, honestly and in good faith, while remaining faithful to the principles that gave birth to the NAfGP project.
“We call upon Gambians to look beyond the politics of division and ask the more consequential question: What kind of Republic do we wish to leave to the generation that follows us? The answer must be a Gambia that is sovereign in purpose, constitutional in governance, accountable in public life, productive in its economy and united in its diversity…”
