The coordinators of Team Gambia 2026 have announced that they will hold a National Conference on Saturday, September 12. The goal of this meeting is to turn Team Gambia 2026 into a political coalition before The Gambia’s December 2026 presidential election.
Coordinators Halifa Sallah and Sidia Jatta released this announcement in a statement that was approved on September 8. The statement follows six months of talks with parties, movements, civil society groups and other stakeholders.
The talks finished with a meeting at Paradise Suites on August 29. At that meeting participants. Approved a report that contains ideas for creating a wide‑based political coalition.
Organisers say that all participants agreed to hold a National Conference with stakeholders. At this conference Team Gambia 2026 hopes to negotiate and sign an agreement that will make Team Gambia 2026 a coalition under Section 155 of the Elections Act. The conference will also set a timetable and a plan for the 2026 election year.
Unlike electoral alliances that focus mainly on parties and presidential candidates Team Gambia 2026 is proposing a larger structure that will bring in many parts of Gambian society.
The plan for the coalition will set up forums for presidential candidates National Assembly members, local government officials, farmers, workers, young people, women, people with disabilities the Gambian diaspora and victims of abuses recorded by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. An expert forum will also be created.
Organisers say that these forums will figure out the priorities of the groups they represent and help shape Team Gambia 2026’s manifesto and plans. They will also watch over the implementation of agreements, policies and programmes that the coalition adopts.
The statement says that the participants in the consultations believe that The Gambia’s present political climate does not give everyone a chance in a free and fair multiparty contest.
Participants also warned about the lack of a presidential term limit. They said that the constitutional changes promised after the 2017 government shift have not happened and this could allow a leader to stay in power forever which they call a “self‑perpetuating rule.”
Organisers compared this to the 2016 opposition coalition that beat former President Yahya Jammeh. That coalition had promised to limit the time of its candidate as part of a larger transitional plan.
Team Gambia 2026 now suggests another plan after the 2026 election. The plan is for a transitional government that will carry out short‑term constitutional and institutional reforms. The aim is to make the political environment fairer for elections according to the organisers.
So the initiative sees itself as more than a deal between politicians. Organisers say they want to create a movement that unites Gambians in the country and around a shared political programme instead of a coalition led by single personalities.
The statement quotes, “It has become clear to all participants that only an organised leadership and people can make a coalition or government that works for them and not for a few.”
Sallah and Jatta say they expect the September 12 conference to move from months of talks into the creation of Team Gambia 2026 as a coalition along with a decided political programme, for the 2026 election year.
