By Kaddy Jawo

The mayor of Kanifing, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, announced today that he was withdrawing from the race to lead the United Democratic Party (UDP) into the 2026 presidential elections. Mr. Bensouda said his decision, which was made after consultations with the party’s long-serving leader, Ousainou Darboe, aligns with the promise he had made not to contest against Mr. Darboe for the party’s leadership. He has also resigned from his role as the national organising secretary, a key position with the party’s executive, fueling speculation that he would announce his exit to forge a new path in the coming weeks.  

Mr. Bensouda and Mr. Darboe were among eleven contenders vying for the UDP’s presidential ticket ahead of next year’s election, where President Adama Barrow is expected to run for a third term. 

But none other than Mr. Bensouda seems to have posed more threat to Mr. Darboe’s grip on power at the UDP, a party he’s led since its founding in 1996, and contested five presidential elections. The entrance of the 39-year-old mayor of the country’s business hub into the contest has turned what has traditionally been a rubber-stamp affair into the most closely watched political contest within the party. 

Here’s what to know about some of the contenders.

Ousainou Darboe

Ousainou Darboe, 77, is a veteran opposition leader and a founding figure of the UDP. He led the party through the dictatorship of exiled former president Yahya Jammeh and challenged him four times in the polls – 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011. Mr. Darboe was jailed so he could not contest the 2016 presidential election. His party’s candidate, Adama Barrow, eventually led an opposition coalition to a shock victory. 

Mr. Darboe became the foreign minister after he was released from jail, and then appointed vice president before falling out with Mr. Barrow, who went on to form his own party and defeated Mr. Darboe in the 2021 polls. 

Born in Bansang, Central River Region, Mr. Darboe studied law at the University of Lagos and later earned a master’s degree from the University of Ottawa. He began his career as a state counsel in 1973 and later founded Basasang Chambers, where he gained a reputation for defending marginalised Gambians. His legal career shot to unprecedented prominence when he served as the defence counsel for individuals allegedly involved in the 1981 coup attempt.

After the restoration of multi-party politics in 1996, following the 1994 coup, Mr. Darboe became the leader of the UDP and the face of the struggle against Mr. Jammeh’s oppressive rule. He endured arrests and imprisonment, most notably an eight-month solitary confinement in 2016, before his release after Mr. Jammeh’s fall. He later served as Foreign Affairs Minister in 2017 and as Vice-President and Minister of Women’s Affairs from 2018 to 2019.

In June 2025, Mr. Darboe declared his interest in running again in 2026 following internal upheavals as news of Mayor Bensoda’s interest emerged. He called for calm and unity, and has since embarked on a diaspora tour across Europe and the United States to mobilise funds ahead of the presidential elections.

Within the party, many see Mr. Darboe as the pillar that holds the organisation together, fearing that replacing him would create breakaways. But voices in opposition to his continued leadership have grown to an unprecedented level, questioning his electability in the face of his old age and poor performance in the previous outings. 

Those – and many people outside of the party – see young and dynamic Mr. Bensouda as a better alternative, given his appeal beyond the traditional UDP support base.

Born in 1986, Mr. Bensouda was first elected in 2018 at just 31, making him the youngest mayor in Gambia’s history. He was re-elected in 2023, defeating his main challenge from the ruling National People Party, Bakary Badjie, with over 56,000 votes.

Mr Bensouda studied at the University of Toronto, where he earned degrees in Economics and Communications Technology, alongside a diploma in Digital Communications from Sheridan Institute. He also completed an Insurance Foundation Diploma at the West African Insurance Institute. Before entering politics, he worked in insurance, market research, and entrepreneurship, founding Safaro Trading Company and co-founding Gamsense, an NGO promoting community self-help.

As a mayor, he has spearheaded major reforms in waste management through the “Mbalit Project,” expanded market facilities, improved drainage and feeder roads, and inaugurated a $3.5 million modern library in 2024. 

Now that he’s out of the race for UDP’s presidential ticket, there is a strong indication that he will soon part ways with the UDP to forge his own path as he pursues his presidential ambition.

Amadou Sanneh

Amadou Sanneh, a long-term treasurer of the UDP, has formally submitted his application, marking his first-ever official bid for the presidency. But his name has long been associated with the UDP’s presidential ticket and had been favoured as Mr. Darboe’s successor. 

Even if he had not been jailed, Mr. Darboe would have been disqualified from running in the 2016 presidential election anyway due to the constitutional age limit. So, Mr. Sanneh was being “prepared” to take over from Mr. Darboe when, in 2013, he was arrested and tortured before being put on trial on charges of writing a letter in support of an asylum seeker, a move that Amnesty International condemned as politically motivated. He was sentenced to five years in jail and pardoned in January 2017 following the fall of Yahya Jammeh. 

Born in 1957, Mr. Sanneh is a trained accountant who once served as Gambia’s Accountant General and later ran a private firm, A.A.& Co. He also worked as Auditor General at the then National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI). As a longtime member of the UDP, where he currently serves as National Treasurer, he is a well-known figure in The Gambia. 

After he was released from prison, he became the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, and then redeployed to the Ministry of Trade. He was removed from government in 2019, alongside Mr. Darboe, as the party fell out with President Barrow. 

Mr. Sanneh remains an influential and endearing figure within the UDP, combining technocratic expertise with a legacy of political sacrifice. His bid for the party’s 2026 standard bearer position marks a departure from bending to the presidential ambitions of Mr. Darboe. But many do not see him as posing any significant threat to Mr. Darboe, who is now a clear favourite.  

When Lamin J. Darboe challenged Ousainou Darboe – the two are not related – for the UDP’s presidential ticket in 2021, the contest barely made a ripple. Unlike this year’s relatively rigorous and transparent selection process, Mr. J. Darboe was left disappointed as he claimed that the selection committee never contacted him about his application, and he only learned of Mr. Darboe’s selection through the media. 

“I believe that was unfair treatment,” he said in an interview with Kerr Fatou this morning, adding, “In fact, four of us applied, but none were considered, and the standard bearership was given to Ousainou Darboe. 

But he hasn’t given up. 

A native of Gunjur,  Mr. J. Darboe is a respected lawyer with extensive experience in law, public service, and community engagement. He holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Tennessee (1995), an LLM in International Law and Criminal Justice from the University of East London (2008), and additional legal qualifications from BPP Professional Education, London, including the Bar Vocational Course and a Postgraduate Diploma in Law. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Berea College, USA, and completed his GCE O- and A-Levels in The Gambia.

Mr. Darboe has been a member of the Bar of the Republic of the Gambia since 2003 and is affiliated with the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, England, as a non-practising barrister since 2001.

Professionally, he serves as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia, practising in criminal, civil, corporate, and solicitor-type work. His career includes significant experience in immigration and refugee law, having worked with Chamberlin Solicitors in London and as a freelance caseworker assisting clients with applications, appeals, and hearings before UK immigration authorities.

Earlier, he served in the Gambian judiciary, including roles as a First-Class Stipendiary Magistrate and Senior Assistant Secretary, overseeing case management, administrative operations, and staff supervision. 

Mr. Darboe’s background also spans leadership in non-governmental work, managing child sponsorship operations at ActionAid The Gambia, as well as early professional experience in banking and journalism as a bank officer and radio news reporter.

Sulayman Saho

Mr. Saho is a UDP National Assembly Member representing Central Baddibu in the North Bank Region. He first won the seat in the 2017 parliamentary elections as a candidate of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and was reelected in the 2022 elections. 

Borry Touray

When the entire senior executive of the UDP was jailed in 2015, the party found itself in a crisis, and in that moment, it turned to more prominent and educated figures within the party’s ranks. 

Mr. Touray, a senior Gambian lawyer and a dedicated member of the party, was one of them. But there’s a widely told – and somewhat amusing – story about how Mr. Touray reportedly fled to Mali to “fortify” himself spiritually when approached to take up the leadership mantle. 

Exactly why he didn’t end up leading remains unclear, but when formal applications were later opened, his name was conspicuously absent from the list. That vacuum left the UDP to settle for what many saw as a stopgap choice: Adama Barrow.

Now, he wants the very job that was once offered to him on a silver platter. 

Mr. Touray is a senior Gambian lawyer with extensive experience in constitutional, civil, and criminal law. Formally admitted to the Gambian Bar in 1999, he began his career as a magistrate in the mid-1990s before moving into private practice. He is the founder and principal counsel of Crown Chambers and has mentored numerous junior lawyers.

Mr. Touray has represented high-profile cases, including acting for the United Democratic Party (UDP) in its 2021 presidential election petition before the Supreme Court and challenging sedition charges against UDP executive Ebrima Dibba in 2024. He also successfully defended clients in complex civil matters, such as a D20 million lawsuit filed by students against five schools.

An outspoken advocate for judicial integrity, Mr. Touray has consistently challenged executive interference in the judiciary. At the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) hearings in 2021, he urged authorities to act on findings to prevent impunity and maintain public trust. Notably, during Yahya Jammeh’s regime, Touray endured harassment and persecution for his legal and human rights work, demonstrating his resilience and commitment to justice.

Besides his legal practice, Mr. Touray has held leadership roles, including Secretary General of the Gambia Bar Association (2006–2010) and Chairperson of Amnesty International, Gambia Section (2004). He also serves as Assistant Administrative Secretary for (Legal and & Human Rights )at the UDP.

Muhammed Danjo

Out of nowhere, enter Dr. Danjo. 

Muhammeh Danjo, 39, from Basse Santa-Su in the Upper River Region, is among the youngest standard-bearers seeking the leadership of the United Democratic Party. 

But unlike Mr. Bensouda, who is also 39, Dr. Danjo is a political unknown, and his audacity to contest for one of the most coveted jobs in the country’s political scene has piqued curiosity about him and reflects a growing interest among Gambian youth in the country’s top political positions.

Dr. Danjo is a trained medical doctor and community advocate. His educational journey began at Koba Primary School and continued through St. George’s Upper Basic School and Nasir Ahmadiyya Muslim Senior Secondary School, from which he graduated in 2006. In 2008, he joined the Community-Based Medical Programme (CBMP), a collaboration between The Gambia and Cuba. After six years of rigorous training at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), he graduated in 2017 with a Doctor of Medicine (MD).

He founded the Basse Community-Based Clinic (BCBC) in 2023, a people-centred healthcare facility providing affordable medical services, free treatment for vulnerable patients, and compassionate care.