The Deputy Spokesperson of the National People’s Party (NPP), Hon. Seedy SK. Njie, has downplayed the emergence of the newly formed UNITE Party, insisting it poses no political threat to the ruling party.
Speaking on QTV’s State of Affairs programme on Tuesday, Njie described the party led by Talib Ahmed Bensouda as a “nonevent.”
“At our level, it is a nonevent. We are never concerned,” he said.
Njie emphasised that the NPP welcomes the participation of more political parties, arguing that their presence reflects the country’s expanding democratic space under President Adama Barrow.
“We’re happy that people are participating in the political pluralism that the NPP continues to ensure, assure and embolden. The President wants to leave a legacy that will make this country a true multiparty democracy, where people’s liberties are protected and political participation takes place without fear or favour,” he stated.
Rejecting comparisons between the UNITE Party and the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) during the 2016 elections, Njie argued that the GDC drew much of its support from the then-ruling APRC. In contrast, he said, both the UNITE Party and the National Unity Party (NUP) draw their strongest support bases from the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP).
According to Njie, divisions within the UDP have ultimately strengthened the NPP.
“The fracture from the UDP has benefitted the NPP 100% and has increased the support volume of the NPP,” he asserted.
