The party said throughout negotiations leading to the PPP-UDP Alliance Agreement, its leader, Madikay Faal, was kept fully informed. It added that a Central Coalition Committee, comprising senior executives, was established to oversee the process and regularly briefed the party leader as discussions progressed.
According to the statement, the agreement was drafted by the PPP Policy Director and accepted by the UDP with only minor amendments. It said all internal consultation and approval procedures required before the agreement could be signed were fully observed, with everyone understanding that the party leader could only sign once those processes had been concluded.
The GEP said relations deteriorated after an advisory letter was issued regarding participation in a UDP press conference on the supplementary voter registration exercise. It maintained that the briefing was not about partisan politics but about protecting the integrity of the country’s democracy by highlighting serious irregularities, including thousands of omitted voter registrations that could affect the outcome of the 2026 elections.
The party said that during its time in the PPP, it represented the party with professionalism, discipline and integrity, respected party structures and consistently acted in both the party’s and the national interest.
However, it said it had become evident that certain factions within the PPP continued to exert undue influence over the party’s direction despite what it described as overwhelming support within the Central Executive Committee and the wider party for a strategic alliance with the UDP.
The GEP argued that prolonged delays and internal obstruction surrounding decisions that had already been agreed upon reflected internal dysfunction and placed factional interests above the national interest. It said it could no longer associate itself with practices that undermine unity, delay progress or weaken efforts to build the broadest possible movement for democratic change.
The party said it will now refocus its efforts on rebuilding the Golden Era Party while engaging political partners who share its vision for meaningful change, insisting that Gambians deserve courageous leadership prepared to put the national interest first and make the difficult decisions needed to secure a better future.
