Gambia's president runs for third term amid division in opposition

(Johannesburg = Yonhap News) Correspondent Na Confirmed = Gambian President Adama Barrow (61) will run for a third term in the presidential election held on the 5th of next month.

According to Bloomberg News on the 11th (local time), President Barrow, who leads the ruling National Party (NPP), submitted presidential candidate registration documents to the National Election Commission the day before.

Gambia's current constitution does not place a limit on the number of terms a president can serve. Last July, Congress voted on a constitutional amendment that would limit the president to only serving two consecutive terms, but it was rejected.

The opposition party is criticizing President Barrow's bid for a third term, saying he promised in the past to introduce a presidential term limit system.

“I have always made it clear that I support term limits,” Barrow told reporters shortly after submitting his candidacy papers, “but that does not mean term limits are the best system of governance.”

He added, “It is up to the Gambian people to decide whether I should become president,” Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg reported the opinions of experts who analyzed that President Barrow has an advantage in this presidential election, citing the division of the opposition party.

In the opposition, former Vice President Usainu Darbo (78), a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP), and Talib Ahmed Bensouda (40), leader of the Unite Party, a candidate for the opposition coalition's Coalition 2026, have registered as candidates.

A local opinion poll conducted last August with 1,556 responses showed that President Barrow had an approval rating of 32%, Candidate Darbo had an approval rating of 25%, and Candidate Bensouda had an approval rating of 19%.

President Barrow's approval rating is the highest, but if you simply add up the approval ratings of the major opposition candidates, the result is that it exceeds President Barrow's approval rating.

Biran Gai, a political science lecturer at the University of the Gambia, told Bloomberg that historically opposition divisions have favored incumbent presidents.