A new political alliance, the Team Gambia Grand Coalition 2026, was formally established on Saturday, September 12, after a five-hour national conference at Paradise Suites, coordinators Halifa Sallah and Sidia Jatta announced Friday.
The gathering capped a consultative process that began March 2 and ran through August 26. Organizers said it drew participants across party lines, age, ethnicity, religion and region. A preliminary report presented August 29 listed 13 political parties, eight movements, eight civil society organizations and 22 individual academics, professionals, trade unionists, business and religious leaders, and persons with disabilities.
They stressed that the exercise was independent and unaffiliated with any single party. Stakeholders received a draft coalition agreement, a proposed conference date and consent forms. Only those who signed and submitted forms attended the September 12 meeting.
After registration, groups reviewed the draft before a plenary debate. Participants then signed the agreement or recorded reservations. Late joiners may still request the document and sign a consent form.
The conference produced seven main outcomes. The name Team Gambia Grand Coalition 2026 was adopted. Two women, Mariama Khan and Victoria Chizoba Okwuanalu, were elected to assist the coordinators; a male and female youth and a male and female person with disability will be added later. Members agreed to submit names for coalition structures by September 16, based on equal representation.
Delegates insisted the result belongs to the collective process, not any individual or party. Article 1 of the agreement separates roles: the coalition will consult civil society on national priorities while political parties, movements, independent aspirants and concerned citizens select and back coalition candidates in the 2026–2027 electoral cycle.
All presidential, National Assembly and council forums will tour the country to explain the coalition’s aims before choosing flagbearers, a step intended to avoid the shortcomings of 2016. The agreement takes effect upon signature, positions the coalition as a transitional administration for the tenure of its elected representatives, and dissolves it after a five-year mandate to restore an even multiparty field.
Next steps include building internal structures and a draft manifesto by September 30, a debriefing on Sunday and a press conference on Monday, a nationwide tour from October 2 to 16, and selecting a presidential flagbearer between October 17 and 30.
Original signatories include the Democratic Party, Gambia Action Party, National Democratic Party, National Unity Party, and PDOIS, as well as several movements, civil society groups, an NGO, and individual citizens. Some parties remain pending signatures.
