By Omar Bah
The United Democratic Party West Coast regional executive committee will today host a meeting of electoral stakeholders including the Independent Electoral Commission, Gambia Immigration Department, police and other stakeholders.
The high-level engagement is expected to provide concrete guarantees for a free, fair and transparent election this December.
A letter signed by UDP Regional Chairman Yusupha Cham and shared with The Standard read: “The meeting is convened to discuss critical issues surrounding electoral conduct – from the supplementary voter registration process through to polling day procedures – as part of our preparations towards the forthcoming December presidential election.
“In our quest to promote transparency and strengthen democratic processes, key institutions including the Regional Police Command, immigration officials, representatives of the Independent Electoral Commission, and other relevant stakeholders will be invited to participate in this important dialogue.”
The party said the objective is to “collectively ensure a free, fair, transparent, and peaceful electoral process in our regional and the country at large”.
The 2026 electoral cycle comes at a time when constitutional and electoral reforms remain incomplete, and deep mistrust persists between the opposition and segments of the state machinery.
The IEC is rolling out a 2025–2029 strategic plan and major UNDP-backed support to strengthen its institutional capacity ahead of December, but questions remain about independence, transparency and responsiveness to stakeholders.
Opposition parties in the country lamented that experience of past electoral cycles in The Gambia and the sub-region, including misuse of incumbency, inflammatory speech, and politicisation of security services, show that goodwill alone does not deliver credible elections.
“Unless UDP proactively forces a structured dialogue around ground rules with the IEC and security chiefs, critical weaknesses in voter registration, results management, security deployment and dispute resolution could be exploited to the detriment of opposition parties and the electorate,” a senior member of the party told The Standard yesterday.
