By: Sainabou Sambou
Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) leader Mama Kandeh has formally endorsed President Adama Barrow as the sole presidential candidate for the December 5 election, sealing a political rapprochement that both men describe in familial terms and that the president presents as central to his path to victory.
Addressing supporters at a meeting held at President Barrow’s hometown of MakamangKunda on Wednesday, Kandeh insisted the decision was entirely voluntary. “Barrow and I are from the same mother and father. Let us not doubt each other. Those who are talking will continue talking,” he said. He rejected any suggestion of pressure or threats. “No one has pointed a gun at my neck to say this. I am saying it willingly, and I do not have two minds about it.” When the time comes for formal political discussions, he added, the choice will remain clear: “We have only one presidential candidate, and he is President Adama Barrow.”
Kandeh expressed confidence that the partnership would deliver a decisive result. “The whole world, including The Gambia, will hear and see that you have won the election,” he told Barrow.
President Barrow received Kandeh and members of the GDC executive, particularly those from the Upper River Region, at his home and described the visit as highly significant. “I am happy to see my family in my home. Your coming here today is very important because there are people here whom I have missed seeing,” he said. Acknowledging that some had opposed the collaboration, Barrow stressed that their longstanding personal relationship outweighed political differences. Politics, he noted, had previously kept him apart from relatives and friends. “Politics is good, and politics is not good. The reason I say this is because today I am seeing people, my family members and my friends whom I have missed seeing. It is all because of politics.”
He attributed the reunion to divine intervention, recalling that the two had known each other since childhood. “What a human being cannot do, God can do. He is capable of everything, and He has brought Mama Kandeh and me together as siblings from the same mother and father.” Barrow assured Kandeh of mutual honesty and lasting commitment: “Mama Kandeh, you are an honest person and I am an honest person. By the grace of Allah, you will not regret this, and I will not regret it either.”
The president urged supporters of his National People’s Party (NPP) and the GDC to show patience with one another, comparing the alliance to a marriage. “Even couples who are married have to be patient with each other. If they are not patient, the marriage will end. Just like two parties that come together, we have to be patient with each other.” He noted that the partnership draws strength from geographic and social diversity, uniting people from Koni, Nuimi, Kartong and beyond. He also warned against “hypocrites” who might spread conflicting messages and sow division. “They can come to you and say something and then go to someone else and say something different. If you are not careful, they can disturb you, and that can disturb your family as well.” Framing the relationship in the same familial language used by Kandeh, Barrow said: “GDC and NPP are like the same mother and father, and I hope we will work together.”
In related remarks at a recent political gathering, Barrow went further, predicting that the strength of support expected during his September Meet the People’s Tour would be so overwhelming that his political father, Ousainou Darboe of the United Democratic Party (UDP), would ultimately withdraw from the race. “My father will go and take an appointment with the IEC Chairman. He will tell him that he wants to withdraw his candidacy because Barrow will win the election. He will tell him, ‘I want to sign out,’ and ‘I agree because the election is over. I accept our victory,’” the president said.
Barrow framed coalitions and alliances as both the foundation of his rise to power and the vehicle that would secure another term. “I will tell Gambians that alliance and coalition is what brought me into power, and I own it. I have been in politics for ten years, and the same alliance and coalition that brought me into power is the alliance and coalition that will make me win the December election.” He repeated his call for patience between NPP and GDC supporters and vigilance against internal division, again using the marriage analogy and the warning about hypocrites.
NPP National Youth President Momodou Sabally welcomed the development and contrasted it with opposition coalition efforts. Referring to Barrow and Kandeh as “two brothers from Jimara,” Sabally said the alliance carried unique weight. He claimed Kandeh’s visit to State House had unsettled some opposition supporters to the point that “Dr Samateh’s hospital received a lot of patients that couldn’t fit there, all because of fear.” Other coalitions, he argued, “are nothing” compared with the bond between the two men: “President Barrow is Kandeh, and Kandeh is Barrow.”
The endorsement and the reinforced NPP-GDC partnership mark a notable shift in the pre-election landscape. By presenting the September nationwide tour as a decisive demonstration of strength capable of prompting Darboe’s withdrawal, and by repeatedly casting the alliance in terms of family, shared childhood roots and divine intervention, Barrow and Kandeh are projecting unity and confidence ahead of the December polls.
