Barrow Rubbishes Gp Poll, Says He'll Quit Politics If Unite Takes West Coast

President Adama Barrow has expressed reservations about the recent election survey by Gambia Participates that Unite leader Talib Bensouda may likely win West Coast Region in the December presidential election.

‎According to the poll which received mixed reactions across the political divide, if elections were held today, President Barrow would get 32 per cent of the votes, UDP leader Ousainu Darboe 25 per cent and Bensouda 19 per cent. In the electoral administrative regions, the poll shows Barrow leading in Upper and Central River Region, Darboe leading in North Bank and Lower River regions and Bensouda leading in the urban West Coast Region and Kanifing Municipality.

‎Analysts say the latest poll sends a strong indication that an opposition unity under a single ticket could send Barrow parking from Number 1 Marina Parade.

‎Reacting to the poll at his weekend rally in the Busumbala Constituency, President Barrow said: “I have just called my Governor [Ousman Bojang] of West Coast and I told him that the information was reported that a poll was conducted stating that certain politicians who just started crawling and are not yet able to walk are going to win in West Coast in this election. I told the governor if those people win in West Coast, then we are going to resign from politics completely. We will cease politics in this country henceforth,” Barrow said.

‎President Barrow mocked the disparate opposition coalitions and alliances saying the majority of the parties that signed the arrangements are in fact unknown to him. “I will never fool myself. I found these signings very interesting. They are only doing it out of desperation and even my yaay compins [women’s groups] have more members than their parties. You cannot call that an alliance. My father [Ousainu Darboe] has been in politics for 30 years but he seems to have lost all his political wisdom and experience to allow himself to be laughed at by going to a hotel to waste money and signing alliances with nonentities,” Barrow said.

‎NPP chieftain and Minister of Transport, Works and Infrastructure Ebrima Sillah also dismissed the survey findings as misleading. He alleged the researchers were paid by people with ulterior motives. “In the 2021 elections President Barrow surpassed the opposition by more than 200,000 votes. So if this poll is anything to go by, that means the NPP has lost more than 70,000 supporters since the 2021 election. This is the highest level of self-deception. We know the people who gave them money to conduct this survey,” Sillah alleged.

‎According to Sillah, the NPP’s target is to take 75 per cent of total votes in the election adding that the lowest they expect to garner is from 60 per cent to 62 per cent.