In The Gambia one could say there was in 1975, an official opposition in parliament which was neither active inside nor active outside about the property Gambia issues. The united party was led by Mr. Pierre Njie who because of his refusal to attend parliament lost his seat when the parliament enacted a law against absenteeism, eventually depriving him of his seat.

Now that a younger, more ambitious former minister, Mr. Sheriff M. Dibba split with the PPP, established his party to challenge the very party he had not only nurtured for more than a decade but claimed also to have been a founding member, one would have expected him to unravel not only the secrets but also to demystify and counter PPP's tactics.

Now that the contest was between two outstanding personalities, one a president of the
Republic, the other a young politician admired by the youths for his eloquence, his immaculate garbing, and his manifested interest in the welfare of the people, there was hope that the struggle when unfolded would not only result to the watering down of the underlying ethnic tone in Gambian politics but also yield a decent multi-party environment that could portray the Gambia to be a democracy worthy of emulation by not only African countries but even beyond the African continent. Expectations were high indeed.

Two things were at stake for both men at this stage; 1) Mr. Jawara was of the view that since many parties or personalities split from the PPP and formed their own parties and many more left their original parties only to join him, he could believe that it was only a matter of time for Mr. Dibba to capitulate and also follow suit.