A sharp public dispute has broken out between APP-Sobeyaa and UNITE following APP-Sobeyaa’s decision to pull out of the Coalition Mediation Committee (CMC) talks aimed at forging a united front for the next presidential election in The Gambia.
In a detailed response released Saturday, APP-Sobeyaa’s official spokesperson Ousainou Bobb accused UNITE of misrepresenting the reasons for the party’s exit and distorting the record of the negotiations. APP-Sobeyaa insisted it did not abandon the process because it expected to lose a flagbearer contest or because it sought a guaranteed running-mate slot as a consolation prize.
“Our proposal for a running mate was a political and governance proposition designed to strengthen the coalition, promote greater inclusion and create a more cohesive leadership,” Bobb stated. The party said it entered the talks prepared to participate, lead or accept being led, but only through a fair, transparent process built on trust.
APP-Sobeyaa further rejected UNITE’s characterization of certain communications as mere “hearsay.” It claimed that Talib Bensouda, his brother Aziz Bensouda and Ebrima Dibba had visited Essa Mbaye Faal and made similar assertions that UNITE had invested three years in positioning Bensouda as president and would not change him as flagbearer. Aziz Bensouda, described as a known confidant of the mayor, had also conveyed the same message to Bobb in his official capacity as APP-Sobeyaa’s national spokesperson and lead negotiator.
The party criticised UNITE for focusing narrowly on the running-mate proposal while sidestepping broader allegations of improper conduct and inducements raised by Essa Mbaye Faal. Those concerns, APP-Sobeyaa said, were central to the decision of mediator Former Vice President Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang and Chairman Prof. Mballow to leave the talks as well.
“We walked away because we refused to compromise the principles on which a credible coalition must be built,” Bobb declared.
UNITE, in a press release signed by Kemo Bojang and issued the same day, firmly rejected the claims. It said APP-Sobeyaa’s representative left the room only after the general body rejected a proposal that the runner-up in the flagbearer vote be guaranteed the vice-presidential position in a legally binding arrangement—an idea advanced, UNITE argued, with full knowledge that APP-Sobeyaa was likely to lose the primary.
“This and not any position attributed to UNITE’s negotiating team is the actual basis for APP-Sobeyaa’s withdrawal,” the statement asserted. UNITE maintained it has never held or officially communicated any fixed commitment to Talib Bensouda as the inevitable flagbearer, and that its consistent position remains to follow whoever wins a fair contest.
The party said the alleged remarks attributed to it came from a third party who was never authorised to speak for UNITE, describing the account as hearsay “at least twice removed.” UNITE stressed it has negotiated throughout with Ambassador Essa Bokar Sey and Professor Sidat Yaffa and has engaged in good faith since receiving a formal invitation thirteen weeks ago.
UNITE called the allegations against it “false and misleading” while reaffirming its commitment to a genuine coalition based on fairness, transparency and mutual respect. It invited APP-Sobeyaa and other parties to remain at the table and raise concerns on the basis of facts rather than rumour.
The exchange underscores deep tensions within the opposition ranks as efforts to build a broad coalition continue to face significant hurdles.
