United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Ousainu Darboe said on Tuesday that his party is no longer participating in the opposition coalition initiative led by the Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD).
Darboe argued that the UDP was not required to submit a formal withdrawal letter to the Coalition Mediation Committee (CMC) because the committee had never formally invited the party to join the talks.
Speaking at a press conference, the veteran opposition leader was responding to recent comments by CMC Chairman Professor Yero Mballow, who said the committee had not received an official withdrawal letter from the UDP and therefore continued to consider the party part of the coalition process.
Darboe rejected that position, explaining that the UDP had entered the discussions following an invitation from the ADD, not from the CMC.
“The CMC never invited me or never invited UDP to the coalition talks. It is the ADD that invited us for a coalition talk, and the CMC was invited by ADD to be part of the process,” he said.
Darboe said that should any formal communication become necessary, it would be addressed to ADD leader Essa Mbye Faal Camara, whom he thanked for inviting the UDP to participate in the negotiations.
He also referred to comments reportedly made by coalition spokesperson Martin during an appearance on the Coffee Time programme. According to Darboe, the spokesperson said political parties unwilling to accept the coalition’s proposed model “should go away.”
Darboe argued that the statement effectively confirmed the UDP’s departure because coalition officials were already aware that the party opposed the model being proposed.
“When he said, ‘If those who do not accept this model should go away,’ and they know perfectly well that UDP does not accept that model, do we have to resign? Do we have to send any letter to them to resign?” Darboe asked.
“When you have already told us that we can go away if we do not accept it, do we have to tell them that we are going away?” he added.
The UDP leader reaffirmed his party’s support for a party-led coalition arrangement, saying its position had been clearly explained during Tuesday’s press conference.
Darboe dismissed suggestions that the UDP remained part of the coalition process simply because it had not submitted a formal withdrawal letter, insisting that the party had already communicated its position clearly and unequivocally.
