Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, THE GAMBIA) – Lawyer Lamin J. Darboe, presidential candidate of the Team Gambia Grand Coalition, on Wednesday completed his nomination submission to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), formally advancing his bid to contest the December 5 presidential election.
Darboe returned to the IEC with outstanding documents after an earlier submission was found incomplete. He was accompanied by veteran politician and former National Assembly member Halifa Sallah and Amadou Jaiteh, a former Legal Adviser at The Gambia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
Speaking to journalists after completing the submission, Darboe identified good governance as the overriding priority of his proposed administration, arguing that development would remain elusive without transparency, accountability, and respect for the rule of law.
“Top priorities for The Gambia would be governance, governance, and governance. Good governance, I mean,” he said.
He argued that governments must operate within the law and respect citizens’ dignity, warning that development efforts would have limited impact if public institutions were not properly governed.
“At the end of the day, no matter what you do for this country, if you are not able to govern in accordance with the law, if you are not able to govern transparently, the country will continue to stagnate,” Darboe said.
Darboe Clarifies Position On FGM
The presidential aspirant was also questioned about his position on female genital mutilation (FGM), particularly given his involvement in a Supreme Court case challenging the provisions of the Women’s (Amendment) Act 2015 that criminalizes the practice.
Darboe represents a group of religious leaders, individuals, and Foni Kansala National Assembly Member Almameh Gibba in a legal challenge seeking to have sections 32A and 32B of the Women’s Act struck down.
Asked what position his government would take on FGM, Darboe said he had not publicly articulated his personal stance, stressing that his involvement in the case was strictly in his professional capacity as a lawyer.
“On FGM, I’ve never stated my position clearly. What I am doing, and what any lawyer does, is to deal with the issues that come to you, with the clients that come to you, [who] have faith in you and have confidence in your competence to deal with issues that affect them,” he said.
He suggested that the government would be better placed to address the matter once it assumed office, without specifying what policy direction his administration would pursue.
Says Voters Have Had 11 Years To Assess Him
Asked why Gambians should trust him over other presidential contenders, Darboe said voters had had about 11 years to assess his conduct, work, and public engagements since he returned to live in The Gambia full-time in January 2015.
He said he occasionally traveled to the United Kingdom, of which he is a citizen, during vacations from his work at the High Court.
“I am not going to stand here and compare myself to other individuals,” he said.
Darboe described himself as a proponent of progressive ideas, saying his experiences in the United States and the United Kingdom had shaped his vision for The Gambia.
He said he wanted to introduce ideas capable of moving the country forward and bringing it closer to the standards of societies he had studied and lived in.
Coalition Brings Together Political and Diplomatic Experience
Darboe’s appearance alongside Sallah and Jatta highlighted the coalition’s association with figures experienced in parliamentary politics, political organization, diplomacy, and international law.
Sallah is a veteran politician and former parliamentarian who led the People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) for decades.
Jaiteh served as Legal Adviser at The Gambia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York between 2016 and 2025, working on international legal and diplomatic matters, including transitional justice.
Darboe’s completed submission adds the Team Gambia Grand Coalition to the list of presidential contenders seeking to contest the December 5 election.
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