By Fatou Saho
A group calling itself Gambia ID Card Scheme, A Great Concern (GICSAC), yesterday held a press conference to claim that the issuance of ID cards to Gambians residing in Mauritania and other countries, is an attempt to “steal” the upcoming 2026 presidential election.
The group’s leader, Hagi Suwaneh, who is also the youth president of the opposition UDP, wondered how government could go to foreign lands to issue ID card to ‘Gambians’ when people living in the country struggle to acquire it .
“National ID card is only useful for Gambians who live here, not those abroad,” Mr Suwaneh explained, noting that they will not watch and allow the government to move to Gabon, Togo and Congo for the same practice.
Another member of GICSAC, Ebrima Sorrie Bah, also of the UDP said:
“The government is ready to manipulate and steal the 2026 election. After denying diaspora voting, they are now using the pretext of helping Gambians in the neighbouring countries with documents, to give votes to people outside the country,” Bah alleged.
He alleged that the government is avoiding Senegal because the new Senegalese government will not accept that “fraudulent” practice.
“The Barrow government knows it cannot win the 2026 election that is why it is coming up with this trick to give The Gambian vote to people from countries not far from the Gambia so that they can come here and vote for him,” Bah said.
The group demanded government to halt issuing Gambian national ID cards in other countries and immediately release a preliminary report on those they have already issued.
