Golden Era Party deputy leader Neneh Cheyassin Secka Kobe has challenged the credibility of a recent opinion poll, accusing Gambia Participates founder and executive director Marr Nyang of lacking the neutrality required of an independent pollster after a paid consultancy with her party ended in disagreement.
Secka Kobe said Nyang, who also operates Project and Results (PRes) Consulting Company Limited, had served as GEP’s campaign manager after the party consulted him last year on a recommendation.
She stated he was paid D175,000 a month. “I find it very difficult to understand how someone who worked directly as a campaign manager for a political movement can now present himself as completely neutral when conducting a poll about political parties and presidential candidates,” she said.
She stressed she was not claiming every poll he conducts is automatically false. “My argument is that there is a clear question about conflict of interest, and people have every right to question his neutrality.” She added that the arrangement ended because he wanted to work behind the scenes, which the party rejected. “You cannot pay someone D175, 000 a month to be your campaign manager and have them hiding behind the scenes. A campaign manager has to be visible.”
Secka Kobe also noted unverified claims that UMC influenced the poll. She said she had seen no proof but could not dismiss the concerns given her knowledge of Nyang. “If you want people to trust political polls, the person conducting them must be above suspicion. In my view, Marr has not established that level of credibility.”
A consultancy agreement dated 19 August 2025 between Golden Era Party, signed by President Saikou Saho, and PRes Consulting, signed by Marr Nyang as consultant, set a 12-month term. Monthly fees were $2,500, rising to $3,000 from 1 January 2026. The scope included developing party policies and structures, electoral-law compliance, resource mobilization, communication strategy, staff recruitment and management, and public engagement.
Annex 1 of the terms of reference assigned Nyang core strategic leadership duties: overall campaign strategy, messaging and branding; a campaign roadmap; opposition research; conducting opinion polls on GEP at least twice ahead of the 2026 election; team and operations management; fundraising oversight; communications and media relations; platform development; voter engagement; and digital strategy.
The contract contained a non-compete clause running through the 2026 general elections, confidentiality lasting five years after termination, and work-product ownership by GEP. Either party could terminate for material breach after 30 days’ notice; GEP could terminate for convenience with 30 days’ notice.
The Alkamba Times contacted Nyang, who declined to comment, citing non-disclosure obligations, and referred inquiries to lawyer Abdoulie Fatty. Fatty confirmed his client had a contract with GEP that was terminated after the parties could not agree on some issues. He said a fuller response would follow.
The dispute highlights tensions over independence in Gambia’s pre-election polling environment as parties prepare for 2026 contests. Secka Kobe framed her criticism as a call for pollsters to remain above suspicion rather than a rejection of any specific result. Nyang’s legal team has not yet detailed the points of disagreement that ended the arrangement.
