By Arret Jatta
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has officially partnered with the yet to be registered Golden Era Party (GEP) to announce the leader of the latter, Saikou Sawo, a former US army veteran and entrepreneur, as its flag bearer for the 2026 presidential election.
The announcement was made at a press conference held at the residence of PPP Secretary General Ousman Madikay Faal in Bijilo.
Sawo, in his address, expressed gratitude to the PPP leadership for welcoming him and his team. He said he felt at home from the very first conversation leading to this development . “The warmth, sincerity, and passion for a better Gambia and for the revival of the PPP were deeply evident,” he said.
Sawo disclosed that the PPP has a strong legacy in building Gambia’s republican institutions. “These institutions remain the backbone of the Gambian state today. These are not myths, they are facts, and they are the historic achievements of the PPP,” Sawo said.
He said Gambian politics must be about ideas, service, unity and national progress — not insults, division, or exclusion,” he said, echoing the timeless philosophy of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara.
Foday Singhateh, the PPP Diaspora President, welcomed Sawo and his team, stating: “Our coming together is not a merger, coalition, or alliance, but a principled decision to unite under the PPP banner.”
He praised Sawo’s commitment to national development and his conduct, which aligns with the PPP’s values of tolerance, unity, and peaceful democratic engagement.
“Mr. Saikou Sawo and Mrs. Nenneh Cheyassin Kebe are patriotic citizens who genuinely have The Gambia at heart. The party is deeply proud of their ambition to serve the nation, their decision to return home, and their willingness to invest significantly in resources and ideas to contribute meaningfully to national development and the well-being of the Gambian people,” he stated.
He added that “the PPP is more than a political party; it is a national movement. The party led Gambia to independence and also laid the foundations of peace, unity and development.”
Duta Kamaso, a long-time PPP member, urged women and youth to support Sawo, saying, “Let’s take Saikou to State House.”
She emphasised the party’s enduring relevance, stating, “PPP is not dead.”
“I want to tell Gambians that PPP is a registered party which has always fulfilled its promise and rests on a solid foundation,” Kamaso said.
