Staff Writer
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has approved the application of the United Movement for Change (UMC) to register as a political party under the name UNITE, the commission announced at a ceremony held at its headquarters on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. The decision clears the way for the party, led by Kanifing Municipal Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda, to field candidates in December’s presidential election.
The approval brings to a close a registration process that began in late 2025, when UMC formally submitted its application and accompanying documentation to the IEC. The process was repeatedly delayed over the following months amid disputes over voter signature verification and inconsistent use of the party’s name across submitted forms.
UMC’s bid to register first ran into difficulty in February 2026, when the IEC reportedly found that only an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 of the roughly 30,000 signature forms submitted by the movement met requirements, while the rest were returned for correction. The commission also asked the party to resolve discrepancies between “UMC,” “UNITE,” and “Movement” appearing across different submission documents.
UMC resubmitted a corrected batch of signatures in the following months, while the IEC cited capacity constraints tied to an ongoing voter registration exercise as a factor in the delay. The commission also cautioned the movement against holding a congress before its registration was finalized — a warning UMC’s leadership rejected as inconsistent with constitutional rights to association. The party went ahead with its national congress on May 16, 2026.
Throughout the process, UMC leaders maintained that registration was a procedural formality rather than a precondition for political participation, pointing to precedents in which Gambian and regional leaders won office without a registered party at the time of their campaigns. Party supporters had also alleged political interference behind the delays, an accusation the IEC did not directly address in public statements.
With registration approved, UNITE becomes the newest political party officially recognized by the IEC, and one of the first new parties cleared ahead of December’s presidential, parliamentary, and local elections. UNITE is expected to field Bensouda as its presidential candidate.
The party has said it has established bureaus across all seven administrative regions and plans to contest seats in the parliamentary and local elections following the presidential vote.
Comments are closed.