By: Momodou Justice Darboe
The United Democratic Party(UDP) has today turned 27.
The Gambia’s main opposition party was formed on 23 August 1996 and went on to contest in multiple elections. The party though boycotted some elections, citing a lack of faith in the electoral process.
According to party officials, UDP was birthed out of the need to restore sanity in the country’s body politics following the 1994 military takeover.
The UDP went on to become a powerful force in opposition politics, campaigning, inter alia, on the platforms of freedom of expression, fiscal discipline, rule of law, and infrastructural development.
But the UDP’s 27th anniversary came at a time of corrupt practices and negligence allegations against some of the local governments it led.
Procurement fraud and flouting of due process allegations have been bandied around UDP-led local councils as the Local Government Commission’s sittings continue.
The councils have yet to react to these allegations but the reverberations from the LG Commission have embarrassed some party supporters and officials.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of the party’s 27thanniversary, UDP leader Lawyer Ousanou is later today expected at the UDP bureau in Manjai, where he will speak to the Gambian people about the state of affairs in the country.
According to the UDP, Hon. Darboe’s speech will be followed by a question-and-answer engagement with the media.
