By: Alieu Jallow
Former National Campaign Manager of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Momodou Sabally, during Coffee Time with Peter Gomez, alleged that the UDP significantly outspent the National People’s Party (NPP) in the recently concluded Kiang Masembeh Ward by-election, claiming the opposition party poured over D4 million into the campaign.
Speaking about the election, Sabally pointed out that the UDP deployed its entire executive leadership to the campaign, including notable figures such as Lamin Manneh, Talib Bensouda, Rohey Malick Lowe, Yankuba Darboe, and Landing Sanneh. He added that even UDP’s North Bank chairman, Sainey Sabally, traveled with a delegation to Kiang to support the party’s candidate.
“They deployed more resources, both human and tangible, than the NPP,” Sabally remarked.
In contrast, he said the NPP had only two cabinet ministers, Dr. Demba Sabally and Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, actively participating in the campaign. According to him, the ruling party relied mainly on its campaign team, led by Lamin Cham, Dou Sanno, and a few others who occasionally showed up to motivate their team.
Sabally further accused Rohey Malick Lowe, the Mayor of Banjul, of taking an aggressive social media approach in the campaign, often broadcasting live on Facebook to rally support for the UDP.
“Rohey Malick Lowe was in the streets with her phone, going live on Facebook and talking to people. They gave it their all, and they retained their seat. Congrats to them for that,” he admitted.
Despite his claims of UDP’s overwhelming campaign efforts, Sabally commended both parties’ candidates for conducting a mature and peaceful campaign. He praised the symbolic handshake between the two after the election, calling it a victory for democracy under the new political dispensation.
However, he also condemned what he described as “unacceptable” remarks from NPP surrogate Babucarr Bahoum, saying such comments have no place in a democratic society.
“That was wrong, and I understand he has apologized. It’s unacceptable and just an unfortunate incident,” Sabally stressed.
The Kiang Masembeh by-election saw the UDP successfully retain the seat, marking yet another crucial victory for the opposition party.
