20100331

Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne, AfricaNews editor in Accra, Ghana

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.
Ousainou Darboe
Below is the full 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...