By Fatou Sillah
Ousainu Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party, has called on his supporters to remain calm and avoid confrontation as the party seeks clarification from the Independent Electoral Commission over figures released from the 2026 Supplementary Voter Registration exercise.
Speaking on the matter, Mr. Darboe said the UDP was not accusing the electoral commission of fraud or misconduct but was seeking greater transparency to strengthen public confidence in the voter registration process ahead of the 2026 elections.
“The UDP is not alleging fraud or wrongdoing on the part of the IEC,” Mr. Darboe said. “We are simply asking for a full reconciliation of the figures so that all political parties and the Gambian people can have confidence that the electoral register accurately reflects the outcome of the registration exercise.”
Mr. Darboe said the party’s technical team identified discrepancies between voter registration data initially shared with political parties and figures later announced by the commission.
According to the UDP, the data first provided by the IEC indicated that 179,445 people had registered during the exercise, a figure the party said differed by 32,650 voters from the commission’s later totals.
He said that after the party raised concerns, the IEC acknowledged that registrations completed on April 8 had been omitted from the initial data release. The commission subsequently updated the figures to include an additional 3,713 registered voters.
The UDP has also asked the IEC to extend the period for scrutinizing the provisional voter register, arguing that the register was published in stages, leaving political parties and members of the public without adequate time to examine the complete list.
Mr. Darboe said meaningful objections to the register could only be made once the full document had been made available for public inspection.
Despite the party’s concerns, he urged supporters and other stakeholders to approach the issue peacefully and through established legal and institutional channels.
“Our objective is not confrontation; our objective is confidence building,” he said.
Mr. Darboe said the UDP remained committed to peaceful democratic participation and to engaging constructively with the Independent Electoral Commission and other stakeholders as questions surrounding the voter registration exercise are addressed.
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