{"id":92382,"date":"2025-12-19T18:05:40","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T18:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base"},"modified":"2025-12-21T05:16:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T05:16:20","slug":"former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base","title":{"rendered":"Former UDP Campaign Manager Warns of Declining Support Base"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong><\/span><b>The United Democratic Party (UDP) is reportedly experiencing a significant decline in its traditional support, according to former party campaign manager Karafa Sonko. In an interview with Eye Africa TV, Sonko challenged the party\u2019s longstanding claim of commanding a 200,000-strong voter base, stating that its actual support has diminished considerably.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe once believed the UDP had over 200,000 votes,\u201d Sonko said, citing his extensive experience within the party. \u201cToday, that foundation has weakened. There are former strongholds where support has visibly declined\u2014something party insiders are aware of but cannot easily acknowledge publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sonko highlighted Gunjur, a traditional UDP stronghold and the hometown of former party member Lamin J. Darboe\u2014now leader of the National Unity Party\u2014as an example. \u201cIn Gunjur, UDP received only 5,000 votes. Many former supporters have shifted to Lamin J. Darboe, including himself,\u201d he noted, pointing to defections as a major factor in the party\u2019s diminishing influence.<\/p>\n<p>The former campaign manager\u2019s remarks underscore internal divisions and defections within the UDP, challenges that threaten the party as it prepares for upcoming elections.<\/p>\n<p>Sonko also indicated that the Unite Movement for Change (UMC) is open to a potential coalition with the UDP ahead of the 2026 presidential election, but only if a strong and viable candidate emerges. His comments follow his resignation from the UDP, citing a loss of confidence in the party\u2019s direction, and suggest that the UMC may be exploring strategic alliances to improve its electoral prospects.<\/p>\n<p>The UDP is currently seeking to regroup and rebrand after a series of setbacks, including accusations of internal disunity, which have contributed to defections and declining support. Sonko\u2019s observations highlight a shifting political landscape in The Gambia as parties position themselves for the 2026 elections.<\/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. The United Democratic Party (UDP) is reportedly experiencing a significant decline in its traditional support, according to former party campaign manager Karafa Sonko. In an interview with Eye Africa TV, Sonko challenged the party\u2019s longstanding claim of commanding a 200,000-strong voter base, stating that its actual support has diminished considerably. \u201cWe once [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":92381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,10],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-92382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-parties","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>Former UDP Campaign Manager Warns of Declining Support Base - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The United Democratic Party (UDP) is reportedly experiencing a significant decline in its traditional support, accord ...\" \/>\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\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former UDP Campaign Manager Warns of Declining Support Base\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The United Democratic Party (UDP) is reportedly experiencing a significant decline in its traditional support, accord ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base\" \/>\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=\"2025-12-19T18:05:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-21T05:16:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/sm_1766160935.831167.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=\"2 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\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Former UDP Campaign Manager Warns of Declining Support Base\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-19T18:05:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-21T05:16:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base\"},\"wordCount\":309,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/sm_1766160935.831167.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/former-udp-campaign-manager-warns-of-declining-support-base\",\"name\":\"Former UDP Campaign Manager Warns of Declining Support Base - 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