The leader of United Democratic Party (UDP), lawyer Ousainou Darboe, has challenged President Adama Barrow’s assertion that he could win a future election by 75 percent of the vote, calling the claim “unrealistic”. 

Mr Darboe told supporters that President Barrow and his allies were encouraging him to contest because they believed he could be easily defeated.

He said such a calculation underestimated the level of public respect he commanded.

“Many Gambians will not choose Barrow over me,” he declared, adding that if the president believed in a three-quarters majority, “he is only dreaming.”

He criticised what he described as President Barrow’s narrow view of development, arguing that roads alone could not be taken as proof of progress.

He said Gambians deserved a government that looked beyond infrastructure projects and invested in people’s lives.

“Who in their right mind would vote for a president who has not cared for the people and who thinks that the only form of development is building roads?” he asked.

He stressed that The Gambia should be debating the state of education, health, and opportunities for young people, particularly given the country’s high rates of migration and unemployment.

The former vice president, said the UDP was committed to offering an alternative vision that prioritised quality education and accountable leadership.

He called on citizens to hold leaders to account and to expect more than what he described as “myopic thinking.”

By Adama Makasuba