As The Gambia moves closer to the 2026 elections, we recognise and welcome increased political activity including campaigns and the proliferation of presidential candidates, political parties, and movements. In this regard, the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice hereby launches a platform to monitor political space including political parties, leaders, supporters, and their speeches and activities geared towards promoting:
A. Free, fair, and transparent elections
B. Issue-based, peaceful, and decent political discourse.
Our objective is to counter electoral malpractices, hate speech, and abuse of incumbency which do not only undermine the credibility of elections but also have the potential to generate political intolerance, polarisation, and electoral violence.
EFSCRJ has undertaken this initiative bearing in mind that civil society is a key stakeholder in the country which should not remain passive in national affairs such as elections. We have learnt from both our experience as a nation and around the world that when political parties, politicians and their supporters are left unchecked, the tendency for politics to deteriorate into indecency, electoral malpractices, human rights violations, and violence are high. Thus, we are determined to monitor, expose, and challenge political actors who promote tribal politics, division, hate, intolerance, disinformation, and unlawful practices in the name of politics. At the same time, we will encourage and strengthen politics based on issues, ideas and activities that promote peace, unity, and development.
We therefore call on all political parties, leaders, and candidates to strictly adhere to the Constitution, the Elections Act and all democratic norms and standards to ensure that citizens are well-informed, actively participate, and are not abused or misled in any way.
As we launch this platform today, EFSCRJ expresses grave concern over the recent utterances of the President at the NPP rally in Sukuta, where he vowed to bring in Chiefs and Alkalolu to campaign for him. We wish to remind the President that both the Local Government Act and the Elections Act require that Chiefs and Alkalolu remain apolitical, as they represent and serve their entire communities based on national unity and socio-cultural foundations.
We therefore urge the President to withdraw this statement and to ensure that no Chief or Alkalo participates in any partisan political activity. Following the ongoing ‘Meet the People’ countrywide tour, we have also noticed similar remarks being repeatedly emphasised by the Minister for Regional Governments Hamat Bah. We hereby remind Mr. Bah as well as, and all Chiefs and Alkalolu that they should not get involved in partisan politics publicly.
Call to action for electoral stakeholders
In light of this election watch campaign, EFSCRJ calls on:
1. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to ensure fair play and intensify the monitoring of the political space to ensure compliance with the law. In particular, we urge the IEC to enforce Section 92 on the Code of Campaign Ethics in the Elections Act in full.
2. The Inter-Party Committee (IPC) enforce its MOU and the Code of Conduct in full. Furthermore, we call on the IPC to ensure that all political parties develop an internal code of conduct to prevent, detect and punish hate speech, tribal politics, and political violence, and hold accountable its members and supporters who perpetrate electoral malpractices.
3. Political parties and candidates demonstrate leadership by upholding the spirit and letter of democratic competition. In this regard, we urge all political parties to establish internal code of conduct to promote and strengthen issue-based, decent, and peaceful politics. In this same vein, to establish necessary enforcement structures to monitor, detect and punish hate speech and tribal politics perpetrated by its leaders, members and supporters.
4. The CSO Coalition on Elections, the Elections Watch Committee, and other civil society organizations including EFSCRJ strengthen campaign monitoring and election observation to prevent, detect, and expose malpractices, and promote lawful and peaceful political engagement.
5. The Gambia Police Force to ensure fair play by consistently enforcing the law against any and all political parties, leaders, and their supporters who violate or threaten law and order.
6. The National Council for Civic Education (NCCE) to intensify and expand civic education across the country to build responsible citizenship attitudes necessary to promote and strengthen issue-based, decent, and peaceful politics and elections.
7. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) continue and strengthen monitoring the incidence of hate speech. Furthermore, NHRC to provide necessary capacity building to electoral stakeholders, especially political parties, to uphold the principles and standards of human rights, the rule of law and prevent hate speech.
The need for all stakeholders to respect electoral laws, norms, and standards cannot be overemphasized. Without compliance, there can be no free and fair elections and such conditions risk descending into electoral violence. The Gambia cannot afford a flawed election or allow political competition to endanger peace and national unity.
In light of these concerns, EFSCRJ hereby launches its Election Watch Campaign, a nationwide initiative to monitor political actors, strengthen public awareness, promote civic responsibility, and ensure that the 2026 presidential elections uphold integrity, transparency, and peace. The time to prevent electoral violence is now, and not on voting day or after.
2025 – The Year of Transparency and Accountability
