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Public debt and fiscal management emerge as the leading issues in online political discourse, while persistent electricity challenges and calls for faster transitional justice add to pressure on the incumbent government. Public debt, persistent electricity supply challenges and demands for faster transitional justice have emerged as major themes in The Gambia’s online political discourse, according to a new analysis by Narrative Control covering the seven days ending October

There comes a point when a government’s failures can no longer be dismissed as temporary challenges, technical difficulties or inherited problems. For many Gambians, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝. Across the country, prolonged electricity blackouts are disrupting businesses, households, education and healthcare. Families are losing food and electrical goods, businesses are losing income, and students are struggling to study. Yet while citizens struggle wi

National Unity Party (NUP) Party Leader, Secretary General and Standard Bearer Dr. Lamin J. Darbo has condemned what he described as “reckless” and divisive remarks made by Imam Daaru Sanyang in an audio recording currently circulating on social media. In a solidarity statement dated 27 August 2026, Dr. Darbo said he had taken note of an audio recording attributed to Imam Sanyang in which the imam allegedly called on Kanifing Municipal Council Lord Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda,

The photo below shows the road corridor running through central Gunjur, from the coastal road around Gunjur Lower Basic School, through the Gunjur market, and connecting to the Gunjur–Brikama Road. The current state of road running through central Gunjur. | Photo credit: Hatab Jobe The construction of this vital road was announced several years ago by the Government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Works. Earlier this year, there was renewed hope when construction equipm

The APeX Secretariat has announced the conclusion of more than 18 months of coalition-building negotiations involving several opposition political parties and movements, culminating in the proposed formation of a new political coalition named CHANGE. According to a press statement issued on Sunday, 9 August, the coalition’s official name is CHANGE — Coalition for Hope, Accountability, National-renewal, Good-governance, and Equity. The negotiations facilitated by APeX involved

Here is the uncomfortable truth about coalitions: they are rarely built on friendship. They are built on arithmetic. UDP is not my political home. I do not support the party, and I am unlikely to support it in the future. That is precisely why I think this deserves to be said without partisan emotion. If UDP has walked away from the coalition talks because it refuses to surrender leadership, I think the party may have made the right calculation. Consider what we often miss wh

In The Gambia, outrage is dead. Accountability is buried. Who benefits while workers starve? President Adama Barrow can run for reelection one million times if he wants. The constitution today places no hard limit on his ambition. But the Gambian political environment teaches a different lesson. In Kerewan, a worker’s monthly wage dies by day ten. In Fajara, what many describe as the “mother of all residential estates” rises from the ground, built by a man who once lived in a

Pa Janneh has called on the citizenry to make informed decision at the polls in December elections for a better life. Speaking during a courtesy call by UNITE Kombo South Chairman, Momodou Semega Janneh, he postulated: “Why are they going on campaign deceiving people with promises they can’t fulfill? They need your votes. Why don’t they sit in their houses in the hope Allah will put them there. They use religion to mislead people. They should sit in their houses . If you do

As The Gambia prepares for the December 5 presidential election, UDP leader Ousainou Darboe has appealed to Gambians to place their trust in his leadership, pledging to serve the nation with honesty, transparency, and dedication if elected. UDP Leader, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe In a message addressed to the nation on his Facebook page, Darboe said he is seeking the presidency not for personal gain, but to serve the people and help address the challenges facing the country. “I se

With due respect to Mayor Talib, I disagree with the assertion that the selection of a coalition flagbearer should completely disregard the size and strength of the constituent political parties. UMC Leader Talib Bensouda Any coalition built on mutual respect, fairness, and political reality cannot ignore the support base that each party brings to the table. It would be difficult to justify asking a party with over 200,000 supporters and a nationwide structure to join a coali

By Maa Touray | Why Seeking a Third Term Could Be President Adama Barrow’s Worst Political Decision President Barrow is bidding fo a third term as PORG and second under the NPP | Photo credit: State House A decision by President Adama Barrow to seek a third presidential term may prove to be the most consequential political decision of his political career. At first glance, such a claim may appear exaggerated. After all, the president currently enjoys political advantages and

Alhagie Ebrima Jatta, long regarded as a diehard supporter of the United Democratic Party (UDP), has made a significant political switch, declaring his support for Dr Lamin J. Darbo and the National Unity Party (NUP). Alhagie Ebrima Jatta (Right) has shifted his support to Dr Lamin J Darbo (L) Jatta’s decision comes in the wake of the widely discussed and successful legal defence of the Bojang siblings, who were represented by Dr Darbo and his legal team. The outcome of the c

The Gambia’s Democratic Crossroads: How Barrow Squandered the Authority That Made Him By Dave Manneh Mandinkas have a concept for the kind of authority Adama Barrow once had: fang majiyo aniƞ horromo niƞ boo-ñaa : the quiet legitimacy that accrues to someone humble, respectful, sociable. This is not the theatrical magnetism that Western political theory calls charisma. It is authority grounded in character rather than spectacle, earned through conduct rather than claimed thro

What If the State Is Not Broken, but Built to Break Us? The Architecture of Predation in The Gambia By Dave Manneh, Securing Futures: Land Rights Action Collaborative (SFLRAC) At a moment of widespread disillusionment, we must ask the harder question: Why do we excel at blaming our leaders? The record is familiar. Jawara was complacent; Jammeh, brutal; Barrow, a squandered promise. This blame holds truth, yet risks missing the real target. What if the failure lies not in

“A Nation Without Rule of Law Stands on Quicksand” as NUP’s Dr. Lamin J Darbo Launches 2026 Bid

Following a recent pledge of D5 million for each ward in the West Coast Region (WCR) should the region support the United Democratic Party (UDP) in the 2026 presidential election, President Adama Barrow has urged voters in the country’s largest region to replace the UDP-led council and its chairman. In return, he promised the construction of a new Brikama market with 1,200 stalls. At a UDP event in Jambanjelly over the weekend, WCR Chairman Yanks Darboe announced that each wa

As the race for the United Democratic Party (UDP) flagbearer heats up, anticipation is growing within The Gambia’s political landscape....

The battle for the flagbearership of the United Democratic Party (UDP) ahead of the 2026 presidential elections has intensified as Lamin...

The Deputy Head of Mission at the Gambia High Commission in London, Suntu Touray, has strongly condemned recent tribal comments made by...

Prominent Gunjur-born barrister Lamin J. Darbo has been ruled out of the United Democratic Party’s (UDP) flagbearer race due to an...