PDOIS FIRES BACK: TEAM GAMBIA COALITION REMAINS THE PRIORITY AHEAD OF 2026

Jarra News Media Staff Reporter

The People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) has moved swiftly to set the record straight over what it describes as an incomplete and misleading newspaper report concerning the party’s position on opposition coalition-building ahead of the 2026 presidential election.

PDOIS Secretary General has clarified that the party’s position is firmly anchored on the Team Gambia coalition initiative, which was endorsed by the party’s Congress as part of efforts to bring opposition forces together under a broad national democratic platform.

According to the clarification, PDOIS is pursuing a grand coalition of opposition parties, and efforts are underway to convene a national conference where the initiative can be fully discussed.

The party stressed that journalists seeking clarification should engage PDOIS leaders Halifa Sallah and Sidia Jatta, who are spearheading the initiative, rather than relying on partial accounts that risk distorting the party’s position.

PDOIS: WE ARE NOT ABANDONING TEAM GAMBIA

PDOIS made it clear that, until the Team Gambia process is exhausted, the party will not divert its political energy into another coalition arrangement.

The party said the central issue is not political convenience or the pursuit of power at all costs, but the creation of a credible democratic alternative capable of addressing the structural weaknesses that have continued to divide the opposition.

PDOIS further argued that the objectives of the 2016 Coalition for Democratic Transition were never fully achieved. In its view, the continued use of a First-Past-the-Post/simple-majority electoral system gives an incumbent president a significant advantage when opposition forces remain fragmented.

The party maintains that without an absolute-majority requirement — a 50-percent-plus-one system — an incumbent can win not necessarily because of overwhelming popularity but because opposition votes are divided among competing candidates.

PLAN B IF TEAM GAMBIA FAILS

Asked whether PDOIS would be prepared to contest alone, the party reportedly responded that it would develop a Plan B should the Team Gambia initiative ultimately fail.

However, PDOIS insists that speculation about Plan B should not distract from the current coalition-building process.

The party’s message is straightforward: let the Team Gambia process run its course before drawing conclusions about what comes next.

PDOIS also expressed disappointment that instead of directly engaging those leading the coalition initiative, the newspaper report presented what the party considers a “half-hearted and incomplete” account of its position.

“PDOIS IS GROWING DAY AND NIGHT”

In one of its strongest assertions, PDOIS declared that the party is continuing to grow “every day and every night” and will maintain its progressive political direction regardless of what happens in 2026.

The party insists that it is not power-hungry, arguing that it will only join a national political grouping genuinely committed to serving the national interest and protecting the interests of the Gambian people.

PDOIS says its objective is therefore not simply to defeat an incumbent but to help build a democratic political system capable of delivering meaningful change for the country.

CALL FOR AN INCLUSIVE COALITION

PDOIS is calling for an all-inclusive opposition coalition that, in its view, must learn from the failures and internal disagreements that undermined the 2016 coalition experiment.

The party argues that ego-driven behaviour and political self-interest among some participants contributed to the failure to complete the democratic transition envisioned in 2016.

For PDOIS, the lesson is clear: the opposition cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past.

The party says the Team Gambia initiative presents an opportunity to build a broader, more disciplined, and genuinely national political alliance capable of moving The Gambia toward what it describes as full-fledged democracy.

As the 2026 political contest approaches, PDOIS is therefore urging political actors, journalists, and the Gambian public to focus on the substance of the coalition process rather than premature speculation over alternative arrangements.

For PDOIS, Team Gambia remains the road being pursued—and that road, the party insists, must first be exhausted before any alternative route is considered.

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