Coalition building among opposition political parties requires resolving fundamental disagreements about leadership structure and program ownership, where successful coalitions typically involve multiple parties negotiating power-sharing arrangements while maintaining a unified candidate and shared policy platform.
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CTWPG: Coalition Talks Progressing, 21 Political Entities | Lamin Manneh
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>> On Monday, the 22nd of June, 2026, you're with Coffee Time with Peter Gomez. The time in the Gambia is 13 minutes past 9:00 in the morning. Our second guest is Mr. Lamin Manneh, assistant administrative secretary, responsible for external affairs for the UDP, the Gambia's biggest opposition party, the United Democratic Party.
Mr. Manneh has been a vocal critic of President Barrow's government, raising concerns about corruption, about debt overhang, and about service delivery.
He's also been deeply engaged in coalition talks and has strong views on voter registration and the country's uh current talking point, the power crisis, even though it has started improving. So, this morning he joins us to share the UDP's perspective on governance, on reform, and of course on the future of um the Gambia. Lamin, the man from that school I don't want to mention.
>> [laughter] >> Welcome back.
>> Thank you so much. Happy to be back here. This is long overdue. I was going to stink, you know, you're supposed to send guys doing. What have you done? You know?
>> went to the wrong school. You know, we look out for one another.
>> [laughter] >> And we >> I saw that. I saw that. Larry was here so many times. They okay, you guys are doing an old boys thing, you know. I was all right. Okay.
>> Let's start with >> back, my friend.
>> Let's start with um you know, the one thing everybody has their eyes on. And I mean I mean most of the uh voters.
>> Mhm.
>> Uh talk of uh coalition, you know, an opposition uh coalition. And you hear different things. Some one is saying, "Oh, no, without me leading, you know, there's no chance." Uh can you start by telling us um you know, what's the state of these discussions?
>> Thanks, Peter. And I'm glad to be back here. And um the coalition talks are going well.
Like I mean, most issues where you deal with so much in terms of interest, in terms of personalities, etc., they are difficult.
But um we are making a lot of headway.
We had come up with a formula where we have a a group of non-partisan, you know, at least for as much as possible, people to lead the the coalition talks. So, none of the political parties and movements are leading the discussion. We set up a team, which we call the coalition management team, you know. So, they they do the the mediation, they they chair the meetings, they write the reports and publish it.
And they've been doing a very good job.
>> Okay.
>> So, we said we would defer to them in terms of communications. They would communicate >> Okay.
>> on behalf of the coalition not to have a cacophony at one point.
>> Mhm.
>> But I think I'm I can happily say that we are making a lot of progress.
>> Okay. And how many parties are involved?
Is it every opposition party, every movement in the opposition, or >> Most of them. Not all of them, but most of them. I think we have, if I remember correctly, we have eight or nine political parties.
And then we have over about a dozen movements join us. All in all, we have about 20, 21 >> Really?
>> political entities sitting in that hall for the past 2 months and negotiating.
There are times when it was a bit tense, you know, and then we move ahead, you know, and then say, "Okay, we'll agree to disagree for today. We'll come back next week and continue."
>> Mhm.
>> So, we've been doing that for since April 18th, I think. You know, 2 months now.
And we're beginning to find some common ground and agree on a number of things and the way forward. Cuz for a long time there had been this sort of dichotomy between party-led and candidate-led.
>> Mhm.
>> So, that was a bit of a sticking point.
Um of course, UDP, we were we are in for party-led.
Um some would say, "No, we want candidate-led." So, we're negotiating that.
And um I think for a long time there was a misunderstanding when people Some people thought that when you say party-led, it would mean that UDP would come with its party agenda and program and implement it, period. And everybody has to bend to that rule.
Which is actually a misnomer.
>> Okay.
>> Because when you say party-led, UDP will come and would provide the party and the flag bearer for the coalition.
But the program will be a coalition program.
The only thing is that the UDP leader >> Mhm.
>> would be a part of the coalition flag bearer, but the program would be decided by the coalition.
>> And implemented by UDP and the coalition team.
>> Okay.
>> So, that was the misunderstanding for a long time that has, you know, stalled progress.
>> Okay. The unambiguous issue is that for the UDP to be part of the coalition, that coalition has to be led by its leader.
>> That is our position, and that is what we negotiated. And you know, it's a negotiation, it's a give and take.
>> Okay.
>> So, for a long time, there was such misunderstanding, but I think people are beginning to come to the understand that it thought that we are not saying if UDP leads, it's going to be cuz I think that was the sticking point. A number of people thought that when we lead, we will impose our programs and our policies.
So, the last meeting, I think I'm made a lot of progress on that. I made it clear that it doesn't mean that if UDP leads, it's a UDP program, period. No.
It's a candidate coming from UDP, and the program will be a coalition program, and it's going to be implemented by a coalition team and UDP together to move forward. That was what we finally got to understand, and that helped a lot.
>> Because there are a lot of people who are listening there now yelling at their you know, radio sets and eventually their screens. Why does it have to be the UDP leader as the flag bearer of any coalition arrangement that the UDP is part of?
>> Very good. Thank you, Peter. And that's a very important because, you know, the reason why in a coalition is we trying to get numbers.
I mean, politics is a game of numbers.
>> It is, yes.
>> And we need to get the party with the biggest numbers to be part of the coalition to move.
Otherwise, we're just wasting time.
And I think everybody in that room, you know, understands that we need to get the numbers to to remove Barrow.
It is clear to some of us that with or without a coalition, it's possible to beat Barrow cuz he's so unpopular these days. But it will be even better if we can have a coalition of people because whoever wins in 2026, December 5th, will have to work with every son and daughter of this country.
If you want a government that's going to achieve results, you must be inclusive.
Bringing all the talents from wherever they are.
Politics in in politics or not.
Within the country and without. You have to bring in every talent.
And to be able to do that, you must be open. So, if you have a coalition that you work with, already you're widening the base. You've cast in a far and wide.
So, you can bring in a lot of people to help build the country because we are going to have to do a lot of hard work to move this country from where we are.
And that requires the talent of the Gambians. We have a lot of talent in in inside the country and a lot outside in the diaspora. Bring everybody on board.
And then we build this country. So, that's what we're trying to do. And now today, UDP has the biggest um political base in the country.
They know that.
So, >> Among the opposition or, you know, >> Even including NPP. NPP knows that.
>> You The UDP base is bigger than that of the NPP.
>> Yes, they know that. They would, of course, you know, say I kick against our brothers the truth.
Their base is shrinking. People are suffering in this country and they're beginning to see that this government will not cut it. So, they're moving to UDP. We're getting that all the time.
So, when that time comes, UDP will have to reach out far and wide because we have a lot to do.
The first year or two in this country with the new government is going to be extremely hard work.
>> Okay. Before the first year or two, you have to get into office first.
>> Yeah, we will.
>> So, the UDP is still confident that it can win on its own.
>> Absolutely.
>> You You welcome a coalition, yes, because it will, you know, >> Because that's that's what we want to do. That's what we are all about. We want to unite the country.
And there's no better way of uniting the country than having a coalition even before you get to power.
You know, and what we can do as a team, UDP, we will do better when we have other people with us.
The victory will be bigger.
The inclusivity will be much more handsome for this country.
And that's what we want to do because we want to unite this country.
Without that, we're going nowhere.
>> Okay. So, in other words, the other parties that are negotiating, you know, I mean, coalition arrangement with you had better just stay on because without them you could still go there and beat Barrow on the 5th of December.
>> We believe we can, but I you know, we respect them and their position, so we do not actually often say that such a thing we say because other parties probably could win, too. But we know that we can win.
But the important thing at this point is that we put that possibility aside and look at what a collective can do.
You imagine we have coalition today with UDP, with GDC, with PAP, with ADD, with Gano, etc. And all those people are on board. You have one of those people coming together plus any other parties that are there out there. They are not there. Um yes, our five PPPs are there, you know.
PPP has come They are all part >> part of the current negotiations.
>> Yes, yes, yes, PPP was not there for a long time, but they've come, they've joined, too. I mean, you have all of those parties, they are all in there.
We're all negotiating plus a lot of political movements and civil society organizations. So, we're doing a lot.
We have currently about 20, 21 political entities in there. Um last Saturday we were told that a few more about who close to eight or 10 out there still also want to join.
So, it's growing because people see the momentum and they see the positive leaning of these coalition talks.
Yes, they are tough negotiations. Yes, we sometimes agree to disagree. We argue a lot. But that's part of the whole thing.
You know, I just say it's like a plant growing, you know.
The the you have the gravitropic phase where the the roots are going deep in to anchor the the the the plant and going to get nutrients and water. You know, that part is difficult.
For the roots to break through. That gravitropic phase is difficult. But once it has done, the phototropic phase starts and the leaves and come above ground. There's no resistance. There's no pressure. And we getting gradually to that phase. We are passing the gravitropic phase and moving to the phototropic phase phase and I think we will we will hear more coming in the coming weeks. Our objective is to get to the selection of a candidate and announcing to the country on the 11th of July.
>> Oh.
>> Yeah.
>> Why the 11th of July? What's the significance of the date?
>> Not not really because it was just the time table we drew up that by that time it's about 3 months or >> to the time?
>> No no no nothing in particular because the the the coalition talks started in the 18th of April.
>> Mhm.
>> We look at about 3 month 3 month period >> in which you try to finish this. Okay.
>> And then if we do that on the 14th, we hope to have a a general, you know, meeting with everybody to present the candidate and present it to the Gambia and then we hit the road now for the campaign.
>> Do you think you'll you'll have something to announce on the 11th of July?
>> I believe we will.
>> Okay.
>> There is a lot of positive >> Oh, yeah. We're all looking forward to the 11th of July.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
>> In the meantime, Barrow thinks if you people are sure of yourselves, you know, face him individually. Don't Don't try to coalesce.
Huh? Even though he forgets that >> Isn't Isn't that ironical because he he has a coalition?
>> [laughter] >> That's the irony of Barrow.
He has a coalition and he's trying to do what he can. I heard him last weekend well, a couple of days ago in We Can saying to his coalition, "We've got to stay together. We've got to be together.
We've got to fight together, you know?"
Really? So, you want the opposition to come alone?
I mean, he's that scared of UDP. But he knows that we can do it. UDP he's scared of.
Particularly because you know when when Barrow goes out to talk it's UDP UDP UDP Ousainou Darboe Ousainou Darboe Last time I heard him at least talk about other people he said oh he's a coalition of vice presidents you know all of them are old and I will beat them three of them were my vice president one was from SATA others time you know and you know come on.
We are not looking at you know those games we are looking at how to save this country from him.
Because the buck stops with Barrow.
All the problems of this country are with Barrow. You know funnily I heard him say UDP said they're going to make sure that everybody eats properly in this place there's nobody who's hungry in this country. I said really?
That's that much >> Isn't he right?
Are there hungry people in this country?
>> Come on.
Very clear everybody knows that Peter you're being pushing me there >> But I haven't seen them where are they?
I'd like to go and see hungry people.
>> The the the cognitive dissonance with Barrow is just amazing.
Most of the people in particular in this greater Banjul area have one main meal in the afternoon.
In the mornings whatever you can put together you get to put the kids to go to school in the evening you manage what you can.
People are suffering Peter when you're on a salary of 4,000 5,000 dalasis a month and you have to buy a bag of rice and you have to pay for transportation to go to work what do you have left to buy fish meat or any other thing not to not to talk about paying your rent paying for electricity etc. How do you survive?
People are scraping.
People are suffering in this country but of course Barrow is has been cushioned against all of that and he's living in his cocoon.
He doesn't know what's happening in this country. If you think people are not suffering in this country are not hungry in this country you better wake up.
Because I'm sure a number of people would have and said, "We will come for you."
>> Mhm.
>> You think we are You think we are living well? He's living on a $500,000 salary a month, on which he has from which he has no expenditure.
And we give him $150,000 a day for food.
>> Oh, no. They've contested that.
>> No, yeah. They will.
>> And they say UDP should >> They will. They will. They will. They will keep saying that.
They will keep saying that, but they know it's true. When it gets out, they say, "Well, no. It's not just for Barrow. It's but it It includes the state guard. It includes the That's the truth. They know it. You know, they keep trying to spin it.
So, instead of spinning it, the best thing would be to cut that out.
>> Mhm.
>> You do not give need to give $4.5 million to a president for food in a month.
When the average Gambian is struggling.
It's wrong.
You don't need to give him $500,000 a salary from which he pays nothing. Absolutely nothing.
We give him everything, to the toothpaste and toothbrush.
So, he doesn't need to that kind of salary.
>> How much should he be earning?
>> Ousainou Darboe said when he comes to power, the first thing he will do is slash that salary. Half of that salary should be enough for any president in this >> $250,000 >> No, I'm I'm not I'm not saying that's how it's going to be the amount, but somewhere around that. Even $200,000 should be enough for a president. Because you buy nothing. We do everything for you. Give you fuel. Give you cars. Give you housing. Give you everything you need. Your clothing, your toothpaste and toothbrush.
Everything is paid for by the Gambian people.
>> And a very handsome after office package.
>> Absolutely. Absolutely. So, you've got to be content.
You've got to be content. You know, that's why this this gentleman came to us in 2021 and said he had $200 million in his account. And we said, "Where did you get it from?"
Your salary for 5 years is three is is is 30 million.
Where did the other $170 million come from?
>> He's got friends who are in business, you know.
>> That's called corruption.
>> [laughter] >> That's called corruption.
And for a president you are not allowed you know this was the gentleman who was driving around in a in a four-wheel drive. I said oh you know it's brand new it was given to me by WAGE.
I was like Does can somebody tell him that's corruption?
The head of state is not allowed to take those gifts from people.
But the guy is swimming in a sea of illegality and he doesn't even know it.
He cannot accept a car as a gift from a from even a citizen let alone a foreigner.
>> But the president of the United States went to where was it Dubai and he was given a car.
>> was exactly. But you see the outcry about it. You see the outcry the backlash on Trump.
Because it's illegal.
The the laws everywhere prevent that. The emoluments clause in the US doesn't allow it.
Trump is violating all the laws in the book of course you know I got to stop.
But in the Gambia here we want to do make sure that we have a president that will obey positive laws.
>> From the UDP's perspective how free and fair was the recent voter registration and you know >> Yeah.
>> especially in capturing new voters.
>> Absolutely very good. Peter you know we have been a very harsh critic of IEC.
But this time around I dust my hat to them.
>> Oh.
>> Yep yep.
See and that's what I keep saying we criticize when criticism is due.
And that makes it incumbent on us also to say bravo when you do well.
>> True.
>> And we have been very critical of IEC everybody knows that. But this time around what they did I was impressed.
>> What did they do?
>> When voter registration started people like Sidia Jatta were showing up in polling in registration centers with minors with foreigners trying to register them.
And IEC officials were telling them, "Can I see your record?"
And citizen Jallow would No, no, no. I see has no right to do this. I said said, "We are entitled to ask at least some question to ascertain because the law says the documents they produce must be valid and authentic."
So, you need to ascertain ascertain the validity and the authenticity of those documents.
Somebody comes up with a birth certificate for 2024, 2025. You know, the elongated ones with the red stamp?
>> Yes.
>> That's not authentic. It's not valid.
Because those birth certificates were stopped in February or 28th February 2023.
So, if you show up with a birth certificate >> Yeah.
>> for 2024 and 2025, that's not valid or authentic.
So, they have the right to question you, to stop you.
You come with an attestation >> Mhm.
>> delivered by an alkaloid in Basse, for example, and you come to London Corner to register. Well, you cannot register here. This was given to you by somebody in Basse. You have to get it from here.
You come to the IEC, we give an attestation, you take it to our So, they were doing their job.
There were times even their own staff >> Mhm.
>> were being resistant. And anytime it happened, our staff would call our colleagues would call us.
And every time I call any of them, I called I pestered them.
I would call Joe Coley, I would call Cherno Jallow, I would call Samba Jallow. Anytime I call them, I say, "Look, your guys in location X I refuse to give our our colleagues the data they are entitled to."
They say, "Hold the line." Sometimes they would call this person while I'm on the phone.
>> Oh, very good.
>> I say, "Give them the data. They are entitled to it. That's what the law says."
And they would give it to our people because we agreed with the IEC that every political party who has agents in those registration centers >> Mhm.
>> should have, at the beginning of the day, the first person that was registered the names and details and the last person that was registered.
And at the end of the day they tell them also how many people were registered.
And during the registration process if Peter comes and we think no, Peter is not Gambian, there's something wrong here, or Peter is a minor.
Our agents are required to let him or her let Peter register get his registration done.
Once it's done they turn to the IEC official say, I want Peter's um coordinates because I think he's a minor or I think he's a foreigner. And we're going to go to revising court for that.
And IEC officials would give them those details.
So, we were having that all over the country.
To prepare for the revising court. So, in some cases you have some very psychopathic people that would say, no, we're not giving it to you.
And our people say, oh no, we are entitled to that, that's what the law says. So, they would call them, I would call them, and we'd have it.
>> You mentioned the revising court. I mean I hope what happened in 2021 will not happen this year.
>> No, no, no.
>> When the revising courts, you know, were open to everybody, nobody, you know, made use of them, and then after the election we started having complaints about, you know, voter registration fraud and all of that.
>> And that's why I say the IEC this year is doing pretty pretty good job.
Because when we before the elect before the registration started, Husseinou Darboe led a team.
Husseinou Darboe, our two names two of our names are Malagi, Malagi is Darboe, Fatou Camara, myself, Modou Barrow, and our IT team.
We went and sat with them.
And we told them what to expect, what we thought is wrong, and we showed them the the the wrong things that happened in 2021 registration.
>> them?
>> Yeah, we have it all in our our database is loaded with those things. We went there and showed them. We said, these are the irregularities that happened, these are the wrong things that happened.
And we hope that there won't be a repetition of that this year.
We discussed all of that, and we had a very good meeting with them for 2 and 1/2 hours. So, we agreed on a number of things. So, now we agreed also that once the is results were completed and compiled they would give it to the parties before it's published.
>> Okay.
>> So we have time to vet and do certain things.
Because once you publish the results in the coalition sorry in the registration center, some people just rush out there and and tear up the the documents.
>> Okay.
>> So they don't have any people anybody scrutinizing them. So we will have those documents ahead of time. We will scrutinize them all the parties.
>> Mhm.
>> And we will be ready for the revising courts. And we are ready.
In addition, the IEC has put in place monthly consultation forum with all the stakeholders.
So during that we discussed the issues.
What are the problems? What are the prospectives possible difficulties we could encounter. And we deal with them ahead.
So now we're going to have that. We're going to get our documents and we're going to prepare for revising courts and we're going to revising courts. Because revising courts get set up once there are applications. If there are no applications, they don't set up revising >> Okay.
>> But just to conclude on that even the the act the election act that we asked him about in November last year there was an error somewhere in form in form called different forms form 1 2 3 4 form 4 had an error in it well an omission.
And you know who detected it?
>> No. Hussein Ludah >> Because this gentleman goes through everything. He was vetting it he saw that form 4 part of it was missing.
So we are with the IEC trying to correct that error. That is an error.
>> Okay.
So that will benefit everybody.
>> Everybody. So we're going to go to revising courts and submit the cases that need to be looked at and then we decide what to do with them and we move forward.
>> Okay.
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