By Omar Bah
The UNITE Movement will on Saturday hold its first national congress and rally, a double move designed to convert momentum into machinery and signal that the opposition race for December 2026 has a new front-runner.
The congress to be hosted at Paradise Hotel will elect UNITE’s new national executive. The rally will be held at the Buffer Zone.
The Movement’s executives confirmed the congress will seat delegates from all regions and the diaspora to ratify a constitution, elect a substantive leadership, and lock in the rules of engagement.
The rally follows immediately — a calculated show of force to prove UNITE can fill streets, not just hotel halls.
“UNITE’s National Congress is built to kill a Gambian cliché: that opposition parties are built around men, not institutions,” a member of the Movement told The Standard.
Delegates will be drawn from constituency structures vetted over the last six months.
UNITE is mobilising for what it calls “the largest opposition convergence since 2016.”
In a heartfelt appeal ahead of the Congress, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, the leader of the newly formed Unite Movement for Change called on all members to attend, not only the congress but also the crucial post-congress rally.
“Today, we stand at a pivotal moment,” the leader declared. “Many movements have come before us, but this is the one that will bring real, positive change to The Gambia. I urge every member to be there, because this rally after the congress is where our movement gains unstoppable momentum.”
Bensouda emphasised that this would be the dawn of a new era—one of justice, equality, and a brighter future for all Gambians.
