By Kemo Kanyi
Ousainu Darboe, party leader and secretary general of the United Democratic Party, vowed that he has no intention to resign as party leader until 2026.
He made this statement in a welcoming speech at the ceremony of welcoming some senior NPP defectors from the West Coast Region to the UDP on Sunday.
He advised UDP militants to be steadfast and give no regard to the rumours going around about the party’s leadership position.
“Today, I am the leader of the leader of the United Democratic Party, and before our congress will be held in 2026, I do not intend to resign as the leader of the UDP.
I intend to continue as the leader of the United Democratic Party until 2026. I know I have many soldiers in the party who are ever willing to protect the integrity of the party. No one in the UDP wants to take my position at the moment. So I want all UDP militants to ignore what they will be hearing from others, even if it has to come from our people, but there are people aside who are pushing for such and making them believe. I will tell the party to look for someone if I have the belief that I can’t continue based on any tangible reasons. So I urge all UDP members to calm and compose of this leadership crisis rumour,” Darboe told UDP militants.
He saw that the defectors from NPP have come at the right time as preparations for the 2026 presidential elections start from now on, and being part of the history will be remarkable.
“You have come at the right time. The work towards the 2026 elections will be done in 2024 and 2025. You are going to be part of history by fighting against bad governance in the country, and these people are part of the change, I congratulate you for taking that right sense of mind. I ask you to extend your mobilisation beyond Busumbala Constituency to bring the youth to UDP so that we can join hands to change the Gambia for the better. I am sure UDP will win the presidential elections in 2026,” he told the newcomers.
Darboe urged the youth of the country to take ownership of the party and drive the party through the right path.
The party leader advised UDP militants to avoid verbal attacks on anyone and focused on mobilising the people to join the UDP.
“We cannot force anyone to join a party. We can only convince them by engaging in respectful dialogue for meaningful sensitisation. Those who have come to join us have realised that UDP is the party to salvage the Gambia. So we must wholeheartedly welcome them, but not speak ill about them. Buwa Fofana was one of the founders of UDP. I toured the whole country with him to mobilize and sensitize civil servants about our party during the Jammeh’s regime. So he is back to his home,” he said.