Timbuktu Institute - Week 4 September 2026 

Ahead of The Gambia’s presidential election on 5 December, the political landscape is rapidly realigning around the incumbent president. He displays complete confidence in his re-election, declaring it “fully assured”. Adama Barrow has also called on his political opponents to join his coalition. After the GDC in July, it is the APP-Sobeyaa, a party that has been critical of the government and has repeatedly called for Barrow’s removal, that announced this week it had concluded an alliance agreement with the presidential party. 

Confident of Re-election, the Presidential Party Rolls Out Its Strategy

However, this decision does not appear to enjoy consensus within the opposition party. Several founding members and senior officials of the APP-Sobeyaa have distanced themselves from this rapprochement and called for the resignation of the party’s president, who signed the agreement. A commentator close to the government, for his part, warned opposition figure Talib Bensouda that he risked prison if he continued to fight President Barrow. Citing what he described as compromising evidence contained in an unpublished official report, the government supporter called on the mayor of Kanifing to abandon any prospect of running.

The UDP Rejects Rapprochement with Barrow and Builds Its Own Alliance

UDP leader Ousainu Darboe reaffirmed his refusal to join the incumbent president’s alliance and set a target of 75% of the vote in the municipality of Kanifing. The UDP has also formed its own alliance, “Gambia First”, which this week received the backing of the Gambia for All party. Hagi Suwaneh, national youth president of the UDP, for his part sharply criticised President Barrow, accusing him among other things of being power-hungry. He criticised Barrow’s remaining in power beyond the three-year transition initially promised, as well as his opposition to the 2020 draft Constitution, which provided for presidential term limits. Suwaneh also accused the president of mismanagement and personal enrichment. Finally, he denounced the country’s economic situation and the persistent difficulties in accessing water, electricity and medicines. According to him, the UDP should continue to expand its opposition alliance in the near future.

 Yahya Jammeh Prepares His Return to the Political Arena

Deposed former president Yahya Jammeh, still in exile in Equatorial Guinea, has officially launched his “No to Alliance” movement (NAM). On this occasion, he announced his wish to return to The Gambia before the end of October in order to designate his movement’s candidate for the presidential election. Should he be prevented from doing so, senior members of his party are expected to make the announcement on his behalf.

The Central Bank Tightens Local Employment Requirements

The Central Bank of The Gambia has ordered all commercial banks operating in the country to begin replacing their non-Gambian employees with Gambians who are “sufficiently qualified”, with a mandatory transfer of skills, by 31 December 2026. The measure follows a study that revealed a “relatively high” number of non-Gambian staff employed outside the formal framework of expatriate quotas.