Africa-Press – Gambia. Yankuba Darboe, chairman of the Brikama Area Council and a senior member of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), has vowed that his party will not allow what he described as “election theft” in the country’s 2026 presidential polls.
In a recent interview with Mengbe Kering TV, Mr. Darboe said the UDP had learned from its experience in the 2021 presidential election, which it claims was marred by irregularities. He pledged that the party would take stronger measures to ensure that “the will of the Gambian people” is respected next time.
“We will fight against these people. What we did in 2021 after they stole the election, we will do more than that if they try again,” Mr. Darboe said. “They will not sit on that presidential seat in 2026.”
Mr. Darboe accused President Adama Barrow’s ruling National People’s Party (NPP) of worsening living conditions in the country, citing rising prices of essential commodities.
“NPP has the presidency, but they are not improving the lives of people; they are making it worse,” he said. “A bag of rice is now expensive, and the price of cement has doubled.”
The Brikama Area Council chairman defended his administration’s record, saying the UDP-led council has made progress in tackling issues such as waste management—problems he claimed the NPP government had failed to address.
Mr. Darboe also alleged that the ruling party transported foreign nationals from the Casamance region of Senegal to attend its recent rally in Sukuta.
“At the Sukuta rally, they brought people from Casamance. They spent the night in Kombo East before being taken to the event,” he said. “Now we are monitoring them because intelligence is very important. In 2021, we were not monitoring such things, but now we are.”
Despite his criticism, Mr. Darboe expressed optimism that Gambians are increasingly ready for what he called “real change.”
“We believe that the country can be developed. The Gambia is not poor, but those leading us have made us poor,” he said. “We must unite to remove them because they are only there for their personal interests—and we have all seen that.”
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