Editorial:Will UDP Ever Win Presidential Elections?

   

The United Democratic Party (UDP), once considered the largest opposition force in The Gambia, has spent the past few years cultivating a political culture that does more harm than good to its image and chances at national leadership. From 2018 to date, the UDP’s approach—both on the ground and online—has been marked not by persuasion, policy, or principles, but by insults, intimidation, and name-calling.

Those who dare to disagree with UDP positions are not seen as fellow citizens exercising democratic rights but are instead branded as traitors, sellouts, or “less Gambian.” Critics are smeared with the most unimaginable accusations, their ethnicity weaponized, their loyalty questioned. The idea that belonging to a party automatically makes one a “true Mandinka” or a “real Gambian” has poisoned discourse and alienated large swathes of the electorate.

Instead of focusing on educating the people, mobilizing on the basis of the party’s manifesto, or proposing credible solutions to the country’s challenges, the UDP has wasted valuable time on personality attacks and empty rhetoric. Party defectors are insulted as “slaves” or accused of “eating vomit” simply for making political choices. This attitude ignores one fundamental reality of democracy: political support is fluid. No party can expect loyalty without accountability, and no party can grow by insulting those who leave.

This toxic politics has consequences. In 2021, the UDP suffered a humiliating defeat, despite boasting of being the strongest opposition. The reason is simple—politics is about winning hearts, not breaking spirits. It is about building coalitions, not burning bridges. It is about offering hope, not threats. And until the UDP recognizes that, it will continue to lose.

  

The old saying is true: there are no permanent friends in politics, only permanent interests. The electorate is not obliged to stand by anyone’s words just to prove loyalty. People support parties and leaders who reflect their aspirations, who show respect, and who can deliver progress. If the UDP fails to shift from divisive rhetoric to constructive politics, the question is not whether it can win, but whether it can even remain relevant in the years ahead.