{"id":90942,"date":"2025-11-27T07:39:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T07:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/darboe-urges-gambians-to-choose-competent-leader-in-2026"},"modified":"2025-11-27T08:27:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T08:27:04","slug":"darboe-urges-gambians-to-choose-competent-leader-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/darboe-urges-gambians-to-choose-competent-leader-in-2026","title":{"rendered":"Darboe Urges Gambians to Choose Competent Leader in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong><\/span><b>Dr. Lamin J. Darboe, the flag-bearer and secretary general of the National Unity Party, urged Gambians on Tuesday to choose \u201ca competent leader\u201d in the 2026 presidential election, warning that the consequences of electing an unprepared president would ultimately fall on the voters themselves.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Speaking at a press conference, Dr. Darboe described the country as \u201cbroken\u201d and in urgent need of leadership capable of rebuilding national institutions. \u201cFor the 2026 election, the country has to elect someone who can repair the country,\u201d he said. \u201cElect people who can build the system. Let everyone take this and keep it in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He called for a government defined by transparency and public service, cautioning citizens against supporting candidates who view the presidency as \u201ca place of enjoyment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Darboe also argued that The Gambia must aspire to compete with the world\u2019s established democracies. \u201cIt is possible for The Gambia to compete with America and England,\u201d he said, adding that national progress required safeguarding state assets and confronting corruption, including what he described as \u201cpaper-based criminality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He further warned against foreign actors who, he said, exploit the country\u2019s natural and economic resources with the assistance of complicit Gambians. Such individuals, he noted, often accept bribes without recognizing the long-term harm to their country.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Gambia<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. Dr. Lamin J. Darboe, the flag-bearer and secretary general of the National Unity Party, urged Gambians on Tuesday to choose \u201ca competent leader\u201d in the 2026 presidential election, warning that the consequences of electing an unprepared president would ultimately fall on the voters themselves. Speaking at a press conference, Dr. Darboe described [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":90941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-90942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Darboe Urges Gambians to Choose Competent Leader in 2026 - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. Lamin J. 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