Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The United Democratic Party (UDP) has called on the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to disclose detailed voter registration data ahead of the 2026 presidential election, warning that continued lack of transparency could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the opposition party said it had repeatedly written to the IEC seeking information on the 2026 Supplementary Voter Registration Exercise but had yet to receive a formal response.
The UDP said the information was necessary to allow political parties and other stakeholders to reconcile voter registration figures and independently assess how duplicate registrations were identified and removed.
The party is specifically asking the IEC to disclose the total number of voters registered before the removal of duplicate or invalid records, the number of duplicate records identified and deleted, and the final number of voters on the register. It also wants a reconciliation of those figures, including breakdowns by administrative area, constituency, registration center, gender, and age where available.
UDP questions 28,932-voter gap
The strongest concern raised by the UDP centers on an apparent discrepancy between two sets of voter registration figures.
According to the party, the IEC announced a total of 212,095 registered voters, while a dataset provided to the UDP contains 183,163 voters. The difference is 28,932 voters, equivalent to approximately 13.6 percent of the announced figure.
The UDP stressed that it was not presenting the discrepancy as evidence of electoral malpractice. However, it said a difference of that magnitude required a clear and verifiable explanation from the electoral commission.
The party wants the IEC to clarify whether the gap is the result of different stages of processing, the removal of duplicate or invalid registrations, differences in the scope of the datasets, or another reason.
The party seeks registration datasets and methodology.
Beyond the headline figures, the UDP is asking for the complete voter registration datasets before and after the duplicate-verification process, as well as an audit or reconciliation summary showing how many records were initially identified as potential duplicates, how many were confirmed, and how many were ultimately removed.
It also wants the IEC to disclose the methodology used to identify and verify duplicate registrations, including any biometric or demographic matching criteria, where legally permissible.
The party acknowledged that some final reconciliation documents could be affected by ongoing Revising Courts proceedings. But it argued that those proceedings should not be used as a blanket justification for withholding information that is already available and can lawfully be disclosed.
The UDP said the IEC’s constitutional independence does not exempt it from transparency and accountability, arguing that electoral credibility depends not only on figures announced by the commission but also on procedures and records that can be independently verified.
The party has given no indication that it intends to abandon institutional or legal channels. Instead, it said it would continue to pursue its concerns through formal engagement and all lawful avenues available to it.
At the same time, the UDP warned that it would not remain silent if actions or omissions threatened the transparency, fairness, or credibility of the electoral process. It called on the IEC to respond to its correspondence, release the available registration information, and engage political parties and other stakeholders to resolve outstanding concerns.
The party also appealed to civil society, diplomatic missions, development partners, the Inter-Party Committee, and the media to scrutinize the electoral process and promote access to accurate and verifiable information.
With the 2026 election approaching, the UDP said transparency before polling day would be essential to building confidence in the process and urged the IEC to act with urgency to address the outstanding questions.
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