United Democratic Party (The Gambia)

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United Democratic Party
AbbreviationUDP
Leader Ousainou Darboe
Founded1996
Merger of People's Progressive Party
National Convention Party
Gambian People's Party
Ideology Social liberalism
Constitutionalism
Social democracy
Political position Centre-left [1]
International affiliation Socialist International (consultative)
National Assembly
15 / 58
Website
udp.gm

The United Democratic Party (abbr. UDP) is a political party in the Gambia, founded in 1996 by 3 political parties banned by the government of Yahya Jammeh (the PPP, NCP and GPP) led by human rights lawyer and freedom fighter Ousainou Darboe. [2] It is the largest opposition party in the National Assembly since 2022.

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A prominent opposition party to the ruling government of Yahyah Jammeh and the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction party, the UDP ran Darboe as its candidate in every presidential election from 1996 to 2011, with Darboe coming second to Jammeh each time. After Darboe was jailed by the government in April 2016, [3] , the UDP selected former UDP deputy treasurer Adama Barrow as its new leader and candidate for the 2016 presidential election. The UDP established Coalition 2016, a coalition of seven opposition parties, and the coalition endorsed Barrow as its candidate. Barrow officially resigned from the UDP to run as an independent candidate endorsed by the coalition. Barrow then won the election in an upset victory. When Jammeh refused to accept the election result, he was forcibly removed from office by a regional military intervention, and after Barrow's inauguration, Darboe was released from prison.

In the lead-up to the 2021 presidential election, Coalition 2016 collapsed, and the party once again ran Darboe as their candidate, [4] who lost the election and received 27.7% of the vote. [5] In the 2022 National Assembly election, the party won 15 of the 53 available seats. [6]

Electoral history

Presidential elections

ElectionParty candidateVotes%Result
1996 Ousainou Darboe 141,38735.84%LostRed x.svg
2001 149,44832.59%LostRed x.svg
2006 104,80826.69%LostRed x.svg
2011 114,17717.36%LostRed x.svg
2016 Adama Barrow [a] 227,70843.29%WonGreen check.svg
2021 Ousainou Darboe 238,25327.72%LostRed x.svg

National Assembly elections

ElectionLeaderVotes %Seats+/–PositionGovernment
1997 Ousainou Darboe 104,56833.97%
7 / 45
Increase2.svg 7Increase2.svg 2ndOpposition
2002 Election boycotted
0 / 49
Decrease2.svg 7Extra-parliamentary
2007 57,54521.84%
4 / 49
Increase2.svg 4Increase2.svg 2ndOpposition
2012 Election boycotted
0 / 48
Decrease2.svg 4Extra-parliamentary
2017 142,14637.47
31 / 53
Increase2.svg 31Increase2.svg 1stCoalition
(UDP-NRP-PPP)
2022 138,17628.04
15 / 53
Decrease2.svg 16Decrease2.svg 2ndOpposition

References

  1. Ran as an independent candidate endorsed by Coalition 2016.
  1. "Our Philosophy". www.udp.gm. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  2. Elections in the Gambia, African Elections Database.
  3. "Gambia opposition leader jailed". BBC News. 21 July 2016.
  4. "Election FAQs: The Gambia" (PDF). ifes.org. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  5. "Barrow re-elected The Gambia's president, opposition cries foul". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  6. "IEC announces final Legislative Election results - The Point". thepoint.gm. Retrieved 14 April 2022.