{"id":85198,"date":"2025-08-31T17:50:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T17:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid"},"modified":"2025-08-31T17:59:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T17:59:51","slug":"gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid","title":{"rendered":"GMC Leader Explains Support for Barrow over 2026 Bid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Mai Ahmed Fatty, leader and secretary general of the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC), has explained why he chose to back President Adama Barrow in the 2026 elections rather than pursue his own presidential ambitions.<\/b><\/p>\n

Speaking in a recent interview with West Coast Radio, Mr. Fatty said he was impressed by President Barrow\u2019s patience and exceptional listening skills, which he described as rare qualities in political leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would admit that I have been preparing to become head of state well before President Barrow, in that my party had existed and I had aspirations of becoming president of The Gambia long before him, but I have also recognized that he has special skills,\u201d Fatty said. \u201cI have recognized his ability, I have recognized his teamwork abilities, and he has extraordinary tenacity for listening. It is very difficult for a lot of leaders to be patient and listen. The president will listen to you for one full hour; he will not interrupt you even once, even if you are speaking about something he hates to listen to. I have recognized this as a very rare skill, an ability in leaders, because most leaders don\u2019t have that,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

The GMC leader revealed that as early as 2012, while he was in exile, he had encouraged Mr. Barrow to consider taking up leadership of the GMC because he believed Barrow had the potential to one day lead the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the year 2012, I contacted the president while I was in exile and had recommended to him to be the leader of the GMC as way back as in 2012, and I told him, I am out of the country, and it is very difficult for me to get involved in grassroots politics, what is called retail politics,\u201d Fatty recalled. \u201cHaving known you as a friend and your abilities and being conscious of the fact that if you have the right environment around you, you could be a great leader, I want you to consider taking up the lease of the party. I will be outside to mobilize resources and funds and make you president,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on Barrow\u2019s presidency, Fatty admitted that the head of state faced challenges and mistakes during his early years in office, largely due to inexperience. However, he argued that Barrow has since matured politically and consolidated his position.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made a lot of missteps in the beginning due to inexperience and a lot of things, but today it is not the same Barrow 2016 we are looking at. He has succeeded politically in disintegrating a lot of political forces that we have marshaled against him. He is still here, and he will be here in 2026, inshaa\u2019Allah,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fatty further noted that no one can be fully prepared for the responsibilities of the presidency, regardless of their academic or political background.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you know nobody ever went to any classroom to learn how to become a president, even those who may be professors in political science and may theoretically be equipped with the skills and the knowledge of the highest office. But it is a different matter when you are there; when you sit down on that chair, you are now the chief executive of the state. It is a different ballgame; nothing ever prepares anybody adequately for such a huge responsibility,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Mai Ahmed Fatty, leader and secretary general of the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC), has explained why he chose to back President Adama Barrow in the 2026 elections rather than pursue his own presidential ambitions. Speaking in a recent interview with West Coast Radio, Mr. Fatty said he was impressed by President Barrow\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":85197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-85198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nGMC Leader Explains Support for Barrow over 2026 Bid - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mai Ahmed Fatty, leader and secretary general of the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC), has explained why he chose to back ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GMC Leader Explains Support for Barrow over 2026 Bid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mai Ahmed Fatty, leader and secretary general of the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC), has explained why he chose to back ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-31T17:50:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-31T17:59:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756650547.046796.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"GMC Leader Explains Support for Barrow over 2026 Bid\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-31T17:50:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-31T17:59:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid\"},\"wordCount\":577,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/sm_1756650547.046796.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gmc-leader-explains-support-for-barrow-over-2026-bid\",\"name\":\"GMC Leader Explains Support for Barrow over 2026 Bid - 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