IEC Accepts Candidacies Of Barrow, Darboe, Bensouda, Dr Touray, Sima

The Independent Electoral Commission IEC has so far approved the nominations of president Adama Barrow of National People’s Party (NPP), Ousainu Darboe of United Democratic Party (UDP), Talib Bensouda of Unite, Modou Lamin Sima of Alliance of Progressive Citizens (APC) and Dr Isatou Touray Independent candidate to contest the December presidential election.

With the exception of Sima, Mr Barrow, Darboe, Touray and Bensouda all come into the race with a wealth of experience having held political offices in various capacities. Barrow would be seeking a third term having won two presidential elections. Darboe is running for the 6th time having contested the 1997, 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2021 elections all without victory. He served as Vice President under Barrow from June 2018 to March 2019 and was replaced by Dr Isatou Touray who served as VP until 2022 before returning to activism. For Mr Bensouda he served as Mayor for Kanifing for 8 years before resigning last week to pursue his presidential ambitions. For Modou Lamin Sima, he worked as an insurance agent, a public servant and served as a manager at the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) until his retirement. Sima was a close ally of president Adama Barrow and was appointed ambassador-at-large for business and investment.

Following the submission of their nomination papers, the IEC announced yesterday that these 5 candidates have been cleared because their nomination papers were in order and accepted paving the way for campaigns starting from 16 November to 3rd December 2026.