{"id":92802,"date":"2025-12-30T17:45:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T17:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election"},"modified":"2025-12-30T18:14:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T18:14:51","slug":"agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election","title":{"rendered":"Agriculture Minister Accuses UDP of Avoiding By-Election"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>The Minister of Agriculture and deputy national president of the ruling National People\u2019s Party, Demba Sabally, accused the main opposition United Democratic Party of lacking the confidence to contest the upcoming Bantanjang Ward by-election, arguing that its failure to field a candidate betrays fear and internal weakness.<\/b><\/p>\n

Speaking to supporters following the nomination process, Mr. Sabally said the UDP\u2019s presence at the nomination venue\u2014despite not presenting a candidate\u2014was evidence of frustration rather than strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UDP is desperate,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir party leader, Ousainou Darboe, came to a nomination in a place where he is afraid to put up a candidate. If they truly have the muscle they claim, why didn\u2019t they present one?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Sabally questioned the UDP\u2019s repeated assertion that it remains the country\u2019s largest opposition party, saying its decision to stay out of the race contradicted that image. He argued that a party confident in its grassroots support would not shy away from direct competition.<\/p>\n

He also dismissed calls by opposition figures for unity against the NPP, suggesting that such appeals were motivated less by concern for the people of Foni than by a desire to block the ruling party\u2019s advance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say they want opposition unity so the NPP will not win, not because they care about Foni,\u201d he said. \u201cThe former councillor is from the \u2018No to Alliance\u2019 group, but today the NPP will take the seat from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Sabally credited the NPP\u2019s rise to what he described as hard work and focused leadership under President Adama Barrow, contrasting it with what he called efforts by opponents to mislead voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Barrow\u2019s government is serious about development,\u201d he said. \u201cOthers only want to confuse the people of Foni and deprive them of progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

He urged residents of Bantanjang Ward and Foni Bondali to back the NPP candidate, Abdoulie Badjie, framing the by-election as a choice between continuity and uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people here know the peace President Barrow has brought and the development they have seen,\u201d Mr. Sabally said. \u201cThey will not trade that for anything, and they will strengthen it by voting for our candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Gambia. The Minister of Agriculture and deputy national president of the ruling National People\u2019s Party, Demba Sabally, accused the main opposition United Democratic Party of lacking the confidence to contest the upcoming Bantanjang Ward by-election, arguing that its failure to field a candidate betrays fear and internal weakness. Speaking to supporters following the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":92801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,7],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-92802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-head-lines","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nAgriculture Minister Accuses UDP of Avoiding By-Election - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Minister of Agriculture and deputy national president of the ruling National People\u2019s Party, Demba Sabally, accus ...\" \/>\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\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Agriculture Minister Accuses UDP of Avoiding By-Election\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Minister of Agriculture and deputy national president of the ruling National People\u2019s Party, Demba Sabally, accus ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election\" \/>\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=\"2025-12-30T17:45:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-30T18:14:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/sm_1767105832.062921.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"588\" \/>\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\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Agriculture Minister Accuses UDP of Avoiding By-Election\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-30T17:45:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-30T18:14:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election\"},\"wordCount\":380,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/sm_1767105832.062921.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Economy\",\"head lines\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/agriculture-minister-accuses-udp-of-avoiding-by-election\",\"name\":\"Agriculture Minister Accuses UDP of Avoiding By-Election - 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