United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Ousainou Darboe says his party withdrew from the opposition coalition talks because it could not accept what it considered “unfair” criteria introduced by the Coalition Management Committee (CMC).

Speaking at a press conference following the UDP’s withdrawal from the negotiations, Darboe argued that the committee had developed rules that disadvantaged his party and questioned the neutrality of some of its members.

“Even though they didn’t accept party-led, they realised that the party is very important,” Darboe said.

“We are not going to accept criteria crafted by people who have been calling in the past to come together and fight UDP.”

The veteran opposition leader alleged that some members of the CMC had already formed views about the preferred coalition model before joining the mediation process.

“So you can see that the so-called CMC was crafting rules that are against UDP. It is quite clear that those who claim to be the mediators have themselves had their preferences for the model of the coalition ever before they became members of the CMC,”he said.

Darboe said the UDP had raised concerns from the outset of the negotiations, maintaining that parts of the process did not align with the party’s principles.

“From the word go, we realised that something was not right,” he said.

He also insisted that the UDP would not sacrifice constitutional principles for political expediency.

“UDP does not subscribe to political expediency at the expense of the Constitution,” Darboe said.

The UDP’s withdrawal has added fresh uncertainty to efforts by opposition parties to build a united front ahead of The Gambia’s 2026 presidential election.

By Adama Makasuba