Former presidential candidate Essa Mbye Faal has apologised to Gambians who were disappointed by his decision to align his All People’s Party (APP) Sobeya with President Adama Barrow’s ruling National People’s Party (NPP), admitting that the move caused anxiety because he initially withheld the reasons behind it.
Faal, a former lead counsel of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), made the remarks on West Coast Radio’s Coffee Time programme with Peter Gomez on Monday, as he sought to explain the political calculations behind the controversial alliance.
“Let me first of all apologise to a lot of Gambians who by reason of my decision were so shaken, partly because I did not explain the basis and the reasons for the decision,” Faal said.
He acknowledged that some Gambians were disappointed and angry with him, but maintained that he could not publicly disclose the full details of the negotiations at the time because of political strategy.
“So for that period of anxiety, I feel very remorseful and I say I am sorry,” he said. “But strategically, I could not have come out to explain in detail why this decision. So for all those who are disappointed, all those who are mad at me, I am sorry.”
‘We Cannot Just Sit and Watch’
Faal said APP-Sobeya’s decision was driven by an assessment that the party would not be able to win the presidential election independently under the circumstances at the time.
Rather than contesting alone and potentially remaining outside the political process, he said the party opted to work with a political force it believed could provide an avenue to pursue some of its national objectives.
“We assessed that okay, APP-Sobeya cannot possibly at that stage win the elections alone,” Faal explained.
“We don’t want to sit by and just watch. That would not make sense, especially after all the investments we have made.”
The admission provides one of the clearest explanations yet from Faal about the strategic considerations behind APP-Sobeya’s decision to join forces with the NPP.
Faal Defends Choice of NPP
Faal rejected the suggestion that APP-Sobeya entered the alliance without carefully considering its implications.
He said the party examined the vision, values and objectives of potential partners before deciding whom it could work with.
“In order to go into a coalition with anyone, you have to believe in their vision. But not only that, you also have to believe in their values and you have to be comfortable and confident that if you would work with this person, you would attain the objective or the best results possible under the circumstances,” he said.
According to Faal, APP-Sobeya held discussions with several political actors before settling on the NPP.
“I have spoken to many,” he said. “We at APP-Sobeya believe that we can work with the NPP to achieve certain results for The Gambia, especially in the areas of convergence.”
