By Tabora Bojang
Hundreds of opposition supporters and officials of the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), staged a protest Saturday to show their opposition to the ongoing issuance of ID cards to ‘Gambians’ in Mauritania, Gabon and Togo.
The protesters marched to the head office of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) holding placards and chanting: “No to electoral fraud”, “protect the integrity of our national documents,” “foreigners hands off our elections” and enough is enough.”
The protesters submitted a petition to the electoral body, the Ministry of Interior and the National Assembly.
They described the controversial policy of issuing ID cards abroad as an attempt by the incumbent to ‘steal” the upcoming 2026 presidential elections using state institutions such as the Gambia Immigration Department .
They further demanded an immediate halt to the policy, the publication of the list of those already issued with ID cards and an explanation about the legal and administrative criteria used to process them, since ID Card is one of the requirements to obtain a voter’s card.
“How can the government go to foreign lands using our little resources to issue our ID cards when Gambians living in the country are struggling to acquire it?”asked former parliamentarian Lawyer Ya Kumba Jaiteh who was among the protesters.
She argued that government could help Gambians who may be undocumented or have their documents expired and are in desperate need, by giving them emergency passports or consular cards.
“But what is the point of issuing national ID cards overseas? We think there is an ongoing fraud and we are here to stop it,” Jaiteh charged.
In their petition read by the secretary general of the UDP youth wing Abubacarr M Kanteh, the protesters warned that the ongoing issuance of ID cards overseas has put the integrity of national documents under “serious attack.”
“These documents represent our collective identity, our collective aspiration and the guiding principle that underpin our nation. When these are undermined, it affects our unity and the legitimacy of our governance. We call on the relevant authorities to take urgent and concrete actions to safeguard the integrity of our national documents,” he said.
They also tasked the National Assembly to take action to ensure fair election procedures, including reducing election nomination fees to a reasonable amount, introduce interview requirements for all voter card claimants during registration and remove the Alkalo and Seyfolu attestation requirement.
