Forecasts a long reign for the main opposition
By Omar Bah
The mayor of Kanifing Municipality, also the National Organising Secretary of the main opposition United Democratic Party, Talib Bensouda, has said his party has a great chance of winning the 2026 presidential election.
Bensouda was speaking in Farafenni during a UDP nationwide tour where he received a resounding welcome. He said the sound and firm footing and very effective structures put across the country by the leadership of Ousainu Darboe give UDP all it takes to win in 2026.
“We are convinced that 2026 will be our year, but for us to achieve that, we would have to work hard for it. You should not wait for the party executives to come here for you to get engaged; politics should be an everyday thing. I can assure you that when we win, we will stay in power for a thousand years because our structures are very strong, and we will use the same structures to govern the country to make sure that the government is effective,” he told a teeming crowd who responded with rapturous applause.
Talib said a UDP government will make sure that the Gambia is independent and sovereign.
Personal commitment to the UDP
Observers said Bensouda’s personal popularity rating in the party and country was at display during the tour with teeming crowds welcoming him across the districts. But commenting on his loyalty to the UDP, Mayor Bensouda assured UDP supporters that he was not going anywhere.
“I was born and found my father moving with Ousainu Darboe, and my mother was also working with him. So, I am Ousainu Darboe’s son and a child of the UDP. I am behind Darboe, and wherever he instructs us to go, that’s where we will go. People can say whatever they want, but I am focusing on the work I am tasked with doing and supporting the principles of the party. If it was for money, I would not have joined the UDP, and if it was for a government position, I would have joined Barrow. My motivation to join politics is to ensure that we have good roads, improve our education system, and create jobs for our youth,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ya Ndey Njie, a senior supporter of the NPP in Farafenni announced her decision to join the UDP.
She said the difficulties in the country are affecting all Gambians, irrespective of political affiliation or religion. She said there are a lot of people who are unhappy with the system and would vote against it in the next presidential election
