OPPOSITION LEADERS INTERVIEWED
  UDP WILL CONTEST ALL SEATS
  By Bubacarr K. Sowe
  Ousainou Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) has said that his party will contest all the 48 constituencies in the forthcoming National Assembly Elections. 
  In an interview with Foroyaa on Tuesday, Mr. Darboe opined that they will win a sizeable number of seats with a view to reducing the APRC dominance in the National Assembly.
  “We have identified candidates for various constituencies and these candidates are working on tax clearance as well as assets declaration and the filling in of nomination papers,” he said.
  For the sponsorship of contestants, Darboe said it is not his party alone, but Gambian Peoples’ Democratic Party (GPDP) and the National Reconciliation Party (NRP) who are allying with him.
  Darboe also said his party’s boycott of the last parliamentary election in 2001 was a protest.
  “We brought our protest to an end when we contested the by-election when Bana Jobe was convicted. We also contested in the Kombo East by-election and the Bakau Ward by-election. So we brought our protest to an end much earlier than now”, he added.
  Asked how many seats UDP will win, Darboe said; “I would not want to predict, but I believe a sizeable part of the seats.” 
  He was asked whether he was willing to create room for other parties in constituencies where they are strong to contest the APRC alone.
  Darboe indicated that he has not been consulted by any other political party on the formation of a tactical alliance. He said presently it is only the GPDP and the NRP that are collaborating with the UDP. When Mr. Gomez was interviewed he spoke a different language.
   
  “GPDP IS NOT PUTTING UP ANY CANDIDATE,” GOMEZ
  By Bubacarr K. Sowe
  The Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress is not going to participate in the January 25 National Assembly elections, said its Secretary General on Wednesday.
  Mr. Gomez told Foroyaa that his party’s target is the next presidential elections, expected in 2011.
  “I was only having one goal and that was for all opposition leaders to come together, but since I cannot achieve this goal, then it is too sad,” Gomez said. He added that since the opposition is divided, he is afraid that what happened in the presidential elections will repeat itself.
  “We always have to learn from our mistakes, but if we still do not learn from our mistakes we are still going to face the same problem like some couple of months ago,” he said. On the formation of a tactical alliance with various parties, he said that it was what GPDP was calling for, and it is unfortunate they are not participating this time around. Asked whether he will support his UDP and NRP friends, Gomez said there is no friendship in politics.
  Gomez added that it is useless to contest since the outcome is foreseen. “We have seen what happened in presidential elections. And we can only have a chance of giving President Jammeh a headache by building a united force which you know we are not following; we are only following our self interest, following our big heads and we are trying to build up big muscles. But to think of the interest of this nation let’s join hands together, where NADD is putting up a candidate GPDP or NRP or UDP should not put up a candidate and we all support the opposition candidate in each constituency,” Gomez posited. 
   

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