The United Democratic Party of The Gambia is marking 30 years since its founding. When the UDP was born, The Gambia was just two years into military rule. The space for opposition was narrow, the cost of dissent was high, and many thought multi-party democracy might not survive. But the UDP chose to contest anyway. That decision shaped the last 30 years of our political history. If a recent poll is to be believed, today, the three biggest political parties and their leaders all came from the party.
For all but a few years of the past 30 years, the UDP was the most visible face of opposition in The Gambia. It organised. It mobilised. It paid a price. Party offices were closed. Members were arrested, detained, tortured, raped, disappeared and killed, among them Solo Sandeng and his fellow protesters in 2016. That sacrifice became a turning point. UDP leader Ousainu Darboe and his colleagues were arrested, thrown into the Mile 2 Prison dungeon, and prosecuted for demanding the release of the body of Mr Sandeng. His supporters, among them many women in party t-shirts went out on the streets of Banjul and demanded his release. Their activism galvanised the coalition that ousted the autocratic government of President Yahya Jammeh and ushered in what was supposed to be a transitional government in 2017.
You cannot tell the story of The Gambia’s return to constitutional rule without centering the UDP’s role in keeping opposition alive during the hardest years. Whether you agree with all of its tactics or not, the party provided a platform for Gambians who wanted an alternative and refused to be silent. After the swearing in of President Adama Barrow, the UDP became the main party in the government and in the subsequent National Assembly and Local Government elections, swept the polls. But the honeymoon could not survive the five year term of the government and the party went back to the opposition.
In about 100 days, the party will contest the presidential election again led by Ousainu Darboe. By all accounts, at 78, this election will be Mr Darboe’s swansong. Whether he realises his lifetime ambition of becoming president or loses to his political godson incumbent President Adama Barrow, Darboe is not expected to be the party’s flag-bearer in the 2031 presidential election. After a whole generation, the party will have to undergo a rebirth and choose new and younger leadership in the persons of the firebrand Brikama Area Council Chairman Yankuba Darboe and the financier Lamin Sanneh.
The UDP is a resilient party and it will have to dig deep to bring about a fresh change. The challenge will be to deepen internal democracy so that young members in Brikama, Basse, and Banjul see a path to leadership that is based on ideas, not just loyalty. Second, opposition is a public service. Democracies need a strong opposition to ask hard questions in the Assembly, to scrutinise budgets, and to offer alternatives. For 30 years the UDP has filled that role, often at great personal cost to its members. That tradition of holding power to account is vital as we consolidate our democracy.
Third, politics must be about policy, not identity. The Gambia is too small for politics of exclusion. Over three decades, the UDP has drawn support across regions and ethnic groups. That is its strength. As it marks this anniversary, the party has a responsibility to continue rejecting tribal language and bellicose rhetoric, and instead to compete on jobs, agriculture, health, education, and the cost of living.
Turning 30 is not just a time speeches at rallies and waving flags. It is a time for stock-taking. The UDP, like all parties, must renew itself. That means recruiting young people who were born after 1996 and who care more about data bundles and youth unemployment than about 1990s politics. It means publishing clear manifestos with costed plans. It means training candidates not just to win, but to serve once elected.
It also means remembering the cost of our democracy. As the party celebrates, it should honour members like Sarjo Kunjang Sanneh and Solo Sandeng and others who did not live to see the party celebrate its tricennium. Their memory is a reminder that political competition in The Gambia must never again come at the cost of life and liberty.
As the UDP marks 30 years, we congratulate it and wish it the discipline to debate ideas, the courage to accept results, and the patriotism to put The Gambia first. The best way to honour 30 years of struggle is to spend the next 30 years building. Not just a party, but a country where every Gambian, regardless of party card, can live with dignity.