Africa-Press – Gambia. The leader and Secretary General of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, has responded to the recent CepRass survey, emphasizing that he does not dismiss the report while reaffirming the party’s strong grassroots support.
Speaking during an interview with Peter Gomez on West Coast Radio, Darboe acknowledged the survey but questioned its methodology. “I’m not a statistician; I’m not also a social scientist; I’m a lawyer, and we have seen the survey, and I’m not sure what methodology was used in arriving at the conclusions, but let me say that I am not dismissive of it,” he said.
He stressed that the UDP’s grassroots support remains robust. “I know that the UDP’s grassroots is still intact. I don’t know what category of persons were interviewed, because that also could influence the conclusions. But I certainly will not be dismissive of it,” he said.
Darboe noted that there is ample time ahead of the December 2026 elections to build on the party’s support.
“And just to say that between now and December 2026, it is a long time. Assuming they are correct, a lot of changes can and will happen before December 2026. We are not going to the elections tomorrow. You have more than a year, and that is why I say I am not dismissive of it, and I am going to work,” he said.
He further described the survey results as a source of motivation for the UDP to strengthen its position. “In fact, I am going to put our party in a position better than what they have shown and work against that negativity and turn it into something positive, so it is a motivation to work harder,” Darboe said.
He added, “And I cannot sit here and say that in 2027 this is what I’m going to do. I know what is on the grassroots. I know the level of the popularity of my party and my own personal popularity,” he said.
Darboe stated that the survey serves as a challenge to intensify the party’s efforts ahead of the 2026 elections. “In fact, it challenges me to do more. In fact, I have decided that maybe we are even lower than this, and we are going to work hard,” he said.
Reflecting on past elections, he added, “After all, in 2021, after December, everybody thought that UDP was dead; we replanned and re-strategized, and that is why we came up with 16 seats.
“And in two of the constituencies, we knew why we lost. It was self-confidence. We didn’t go out to get the voters because the voters that we should have ferried to the polling station, we didn’t do it because the candidates were just too confident, and that is not going to happen anymore in any of our elections. We are going to do well, that is certain, and we will work hard to ensure that,” he concluded.
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