By Fatou Jongama
I still believe there will be a coalition anyway. PDOIS, SOBEYA, UMC, GDC, and other smaller parties will come together.
These parties are on the same page when it comes to choosing a coalition flagbearer.
So this means they can come together, sit down, talk, and agree without any major issues.
The Gambia is bigger than one man.
The Gambia is bigger than one political party.
And we need to remember that. Also the opposition consists of more than one political party, so it is not divided.
If all the other parties agree except one, even if it has the biggest support base, to me, that is not division.
Division would mean the different political parties pulling in different directions.
That is not what is happening right now as we can see. What we are seeing is one party choosing a different path from a coalition.
The other opposition parties all seem to want a coalition, they all seem to welcome a coalition, and they all agree on how a coalition works and how to choose the leader of this coalition.
It seems the parties that are prepared to form this coalition together are not interested in going along with demands that everyone must endorse one individual without a fair process.
They are ready for a process to take place and for a flag bearer to be chosen in a fair and democratic way, even if they themselves are not selected.
That alone says a lot about the opposition that is willing to be part of a coalition. So we are not divided anymore.
Now, Barrow may still win because UDP with its big supporter base has made a decision not to join a coalition that does not give them automatic leadership.
But that is their prerogative to go their own way. And the coalition could actually win without UDP. Believe this. But let us call a spade a spade in our analysis and comments about this.
We can all clearly see now that there are two paths being taken. One is a coalition effort by most opposition parties. The other is a single party choosing to go alone.
That is our reality and we must accept it and move on and start coalition prepping for December without UDP. No more sugarcoating and vague statements about the opposition being “divided”.
Saying that over and over, without naming what is actually happening does not help the conversation. Every party has the right to make its own choice and that includes the choice to go alone.
But let’s move forward now…because I also believe Gambians will be inspired by seeing coalition party leaders put their egos aside and come together.
Gambia needs that right now. People remember 2016. They remember that party leaders, including those in UDP, came together, put their differences aside, and won against Yahya Jammeh.
At that time, the coalition was led by Adama Barrow, who came from UDP, and cooperation seemed easier then.
What is interesting is that if there were cooperation again today, the flag bearer could easily come from UDP again. So it’s a shame that there won’t be collaboration.
This time around, cooperation is proving impossible.
But things happen for a reason. And perhaps there is a divine reason why UDP has chosen to go on its own this time. Maybe it is for the best.
We will find out in 2027. I think that perhaps this so called division exists so the country can clearly see which path truly serves the national interest.
Either way the coalition will still be formed by the other parties. What I hope will happen is that voters look at this moment and feel inspired. I also believe some of the NPP and UDP supporters may change their minds and decide to support the coalition because it represents collective effort and national interest, even if they remain loyal to their parties.
And even if the coalition does not win and Barrow is still president in 2027, every party leader involved will go to bed knowing that the flag bearer was selected through a fair and democratic process and they came together and tried.
So no, I disagree with the claim that the opposition is divided. When it comes to the coalition, most opposition parties are on the same page as of today.
What we are witnessing is choice.
UDP has made its choice. They want to be endorsed, not selected through a coalition or convention.
SOBEYA, PDOIS, GDC, and UMC and other small parties have also made their choice.
They want a coalition leader selected through votes, not endorsement.
When the elections are over and fingers start pointing, Gambians will remember. And People will not accept being blamed for outcomes while others refuse to look inward.
That conversation is coming. One last thing.
All of the political leaders who are willing to take a risk and enter a process where they may not even be chosen as flag bearer are on the right side of history.
It shows they are putting The Gambia first.
That is leadership.
I hope Gambians are paying attention and that they vote for a coalition, regardless of party loyalty, so that we can bring about a change of government in the Gambia again.
