Did the UDP Create Its Own Biggest Rival?

Written by: Seringe S.T. Touray

Is the UDP becoming its own worst enemy? The party has dominated The Gambia’s opposition politics for nearly 30 years, but one of its newest challengers was born from within its own ranks.

Talib Bensouda left the UDP after his presidential ambitions ran into resistance and went on to establish UNITE, which was only officially registered as a political party on July 1st.

Barely seven weeks later, Bensouda is now the Coalition 2026 flagbearer, and a Gambia Participates survey puts him at 19%, just six points behind UDP leader Ousainou Darboe on 25%, with President Adama Barrow leading on 32%.

For a party founded in 1996, watching an organisation it inadvertently helped give birth to grow so quickly into a serious political rival raises an uncomfortable question: did the UDP create one of its biggest threats by refusing to make room for change?