Today, October 10, the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice has written to the President calling on him to withhold his assent to the recently passed Elections Bill, 2025 until fundamental concerns affecting the democratic rights of Gambians are addressed. After five years under parliamentary review, the Elections Bill was passed after its third reading with 23 votes in favour and 14 against.
This morning, we submitted a letter to State House highlighting issues and concerns in the bill that undermines the Constitution, democracy and the conduct of free and fair elections. We have therefore urged the President to return the bill to the National Assembly to urge them to further review to ensure that the bill safeguards democracy, the right to vote and ensure free and fair elections.
While the Bill introduces certain administrative clarifications, it contains serious provisions that undermine inclusive, fair and participatory elections as guaranteed by the 1997 Constitution and international human rights obligations.
In particular, EFSCRJ is deeply concerned about:
• Disenfranchisement of Gambians – The Bill continues to exclude key segments of the citizenry from voting, including prisoners and the Gambian diaspora, by maintaining restrictive qualification and registration rules that fail to give effect to the right of every Gambian citizen to vote regardless of residence or status.
• Excessively high nomination deposits and party registration fees – The Bill imposes prohibitive financial barriers to political participation, requiring presidential candidates to deposit one million dalasi and National Assembly candidates one hundred and fifty thousand dalasi [s.42]. These amounts are unreasonably high in the Gambian socio-economic context and risk limiting elections to only the wealthy and well-connected.
• Reliance on attestation without robust safeguards – The continued use of attestations from Alkalolu and Seyfololu as proof of citizenship [s.13(2)(d)] exposes the voter registration system to manipulation, discrimination, and fraud, without the Bill providing adequate oversight or verification mechanisms.
• Weak transparency and control of political party and campaign financing – The Bill does not introduce safeguards for the disclosure, regulation, and oversight of political financing, leaving elections vulnerable to undue influence, vote-buying and unfair advantages for those with access to state resources or illicit funding.
• Other restrictive and ambiguous provisions – Several clauses fail to sufficiently promote equal access to the electoral process, including the right to information, equitable access to media, and effective dispute resolution.
The right to vote and be elected is the foundation of our democracy. An elections law must remove barriers to participation, ensure fair competition, and guarantee transparency and accountability in political financing. The Elections Bill, 2025, in its current form, falls short of these standards and risks reversing democratic gains.
EFSCRJ therefore urges the President to return the Bill to the National Assembly for further consultation, revision and alignment with the Constitution, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, and the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
In our assessment of the bill, it is observed that it creates and entrenches administrative discretion, creates financial and procedural barriers to participation, and fails to guarantee fair media access or transparent campaign financing among other concerns. These weaknesses threaten inclusive suffrage, equal political competition, and free, fair elections.
We therefore call on citizens, civil society, the Independent Electoral Commission and all Gambians to advocate for an electoral law that truly safeguards every citizen’s right to vote, fosters inclusive political participation, and strengthens the integrity of our elections. We urge the National Assembly and political parties to do the needful to further review the bill to bring it in line with the Constitution and democratic principles.
We wish to remind the political parties, and in particular UDP, PDOIS, NRP, NCP, GMC, and PPP which in 2012 formed the Gambian Opposition for Electoral Reforms (GOFER), of their undertaking to reform the electoral system. In their 14-point proposal submitted to the IEC and other stakeholders in 2015, GOFER parties which are now represented either in the Executive or Legislature or both vowed to ensure diaspora voting, remove attestation and address campaign financing, among other electoral reforms.
Similarly, we wish to remind Pres. Barrow of his 2016 Manifesto in which he vowed to also undertake robust and holistic electoral reforms upon assuming office. Hence, under the auspices of the NPP and its allies, we urge him to ensure that the Elections Bill 2025 is returned to the National Assembly for further review to reflect the principles and standards of democratic elections in line with the 1997 Constitution.
Above all, we wish to remind the President Adama Barrow and the National Assembly of the historic April 14 Protest led by Solo Sandeng and compatriots demanding electoral reforms which led to their subsequent arrest and severe torture leading to Sandeng’s death. It was that protest for electoral reforms which became an instrumental catalyst that galvanized both the opposition and citizens into a coalition that ousted the brutal dictatorship in 2016. Thanks to that milestone sacrifice, the leaders of today were able to assume the positions they hold. Hence today, nine years letter, we deserve an electoral law that befittingly honours the role and legacy of those protesters.
2025 – The Year of Transparency and Accountability
