Momodou Bah, leader of the AFRO Movement and a declared presidential aspirant, has predicted that President Adama Barrow will lose the 2026 elections, citing what he described as public dissatisfaction with governance.
Speaking in an interview with West Coast Radio on Wednesday, Mr. Bah said the current administration’s performance had weakened its chances of re-election.
“He is scoring very badly, and he is making himself lose the next election, and he will lose the next election,” he said.
Mr. Bah argued that elections are often decided by the performance of incumbent governments rather than the strength of opposition parties.
“Opposition parties, political leaders, government opponents—they don’t win elections. It is the government that loses elections,” he said.
He added that when citizens are satisfied with governance, they tend to retain incumbents, but when expectations are not met, voters eventually turn away.
“If you are a serious government and you are doing what is expected of you, the people will continue to vote for you. But if you are not doing what is expected of you, the people will not vote for you,” he stated.
Mr. Bah pointed to what he described as rising public concerns over insecurity, poverty, and press freedom, saying these were contributing to voter dissatisfaction.
“All the signals are not good for the Barrow government, ranging from insecurity, poverty, press freedom, and many, many things,” he said.
He also alleged that governance-related challenges such as corruption tend to increase as elections approach.
“As we move closer to the polls, you see a lot of corruption scandals and insecurity,” he said.
Mr. Bah further cited global economic uncertainties, saying international developments were affecting The Gambia through rising fuel and food prices.
“It is affecting us through fuel prices, through food security, and stability in general. Businesses are at a standstill,” he said, questioning the government’s capacity to manage potential external shocks.
