By Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne, AfricaNews editor in Accra, Ghana
ACCRA, 30 March 2010: The leader of the main opposition party in the Gambia, United Democratic Party’s (UDP) Ousainou Darboe, has said he regrets the boycott of the 2002 National Assembly in that country. He said he takes full responsibility for that but explained that he was misled into taking the decision and with hindsight that should not have happened.
Below is part of the text of an exclusive interview with the main opposition leader in the Gambia.
AfricaNews: What moved you to enter politics?
Ousainou Darboe: Well, I hadn’t planned to enter politics or planned to become a politician but when the then military regime lifted the ban on political activities in the Gambia where all the major political parties were banned and all the leaders were equally banned, some people founded the United Democratic Party and I was approved to lead it.
I accepted the indication, accepted the challenge that we should not allow the military to usurp what is going to become a constitutional power to itself by default. And that’s how I got into politics.
AfricaNews: You have been accused in the past of being too hungry for power such that you can do anything to attain political power. What is your responds to this?
Ousainou Darboe: I do not know why people are accusing me of that because I did not form the party, the party was formed and I was elected to lead it. Those who are hungry for power are the ones who have formed party and have chosen themselves to lead those parties. If you say I can go to any extent to try to become president, what illegal thing have I done? What have I done that is unorthodox? What have I done that is condemnable to stay in power?
I have challenged anybody who wishes to take up the leadership of the United Democratic Party; they can very well do so. I’m not in any way expressing regret but obviously, I know that the leadership of the United Democratic Party has resulted in a lot negative things for me. I mean financially, otherwise, I know what my status was before 1992 and now I know what my status is, so anyone who wants to take over the mantle at the United Democratic Party he is welcomed to do so.
As I told you, I came into politics because we did not want the military to hijack the united government of the Gambia by default of the Gambians. That is all.
