Gambia: APeX suspends negotiations for the CHANGE coalition ahead of presidential election

APeX announced on Friday, September 11, that it has suspended negotiations aimed at forming the opposition coalition CHANGE in Gambia, following the participants’ failure to agree on the status of the consensus candidate for the presidential election scheduled for December 5, 2026.

After nineteen months of discussions, the involved parties had reached a provisional agreement on a coalition project and the selection of a common candidate. The sticking point concerns whether this candidate should run as an independent.

APeX, which is acting as a facilitator in the process, claims that this arrangement was part of a provisional agreement. However, the parties were unable to resolve their disagreement within seventy-two hours following the last scheduled negotiation session on September 6.

The suspension took effect on September 9. APeX stated that it remains available to resume its mediation if the concerned parties can reach a compromise on the independent candidacy and wish to restart the coalition process.

The disagreement comes just days after APP-Sobeyaa withdrew from the discussions, citing a dispute over power-sharing, a version contested by APeX, which maintains that the current impasse specifically relates to the status of the common candidate.

This process is separate from Team Gambia 2026, another electoral gathering initiative that is conducting its own consultations in preparation for the presidential election.

According to the Independent Electoral Commission’s schedule, presidential candidacies must be submitted between October 26 and November 6. The campaign is set to run from November 10 to December 3, leading up to the vote on December 5, 2026.