By Madi Jobarteh
Once again, the government’s troubling intention to move The Gambia towards greater authoritarian control has been exposed. According to the Minister of Information, Dr Ismaila Ceesay, the government is considering requiring government authorisation for the conduct of research, including opinion polls.
“Anybody can come into this country, go to any village, start interviewing people, start collecting their data, start doing research which is not acceptable, and so on and so forth,” Dr Ceesay said. “We are trying to regulate that to ensure that all research that is done in this country is in line with legal frameworks.” Kerr Fatou -(https://www.kerrfatou.com/information-minister-says-opinion-polls-could-require-approval-under-proposed-research-council/)
Nothing could be more draconian or more fundamentally incompatible with a democratic society.
Research is an essential component of academic freedom and forms part of the broader freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and international human rights law. Government has no legitimate business deciding who may conduct research, what questions may be asked, who may be consulted, or when research may be undertaken.
Research, including opinion polling, is fundamentally about gathering information, generating knowledge, understanding society, informing public policy, planning, development and strengthening democratic governance. It may be undertaken by individuals, academic institutions, businesses, civil society organisations, political parties, media organisations and other public or private entities.
The idea that citizens or institutions must first obtain government permission before conducting research is therefore not regulation, rather it is control. If the proposed National Research Development and Innovation Council Bill, 2026 seeks to subject research to government authorisation or otherwise restrict what research can be conducted, then it would represent a deeply undemocratic assault on freedom of inquiry, knowledge production, and access to information. This is deeply worrying, but, given the trajectory of recent government initiatives, it is unfortunately not surprising.
I call on researchers and all institutions and individuals engaged in research such as universities, public institutions, private businesses, civil society organisations, political parties, media organisations, and independent researchers, to reject any attempt to place research under government authorisation and political control. We must not allow the government to tell us where to look, whom to ask, what to question, or when we may seek answers.
Research is not a privilege granted by government. The freedom to inquire, investigate, question, and generate knowledge is fundamental to a free and democratic society. History demonstrates that only authoritarian governments seek to control research precisely because independent research can expose uncomfortable truths, challenge official narratives, reveal corruption and mismanagement, and empower citizens with knowledge.
A government that controls the questions ultimately seeks to influence the answers. A government that controls information ultimately seeks to control public understanding.
The Gambia must not go down that road.
THE BILL MUST BE MADE PUBLIC! I call on the government to immediately publish the National Research Development and Innovation Council Bill, 2026 and make it freely accessible to the public for thorough scrutiny and consultation. In particular, I call on the Minister of Information, Dr Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Professor Pierre Gomez, and Minister of Justice, Dawda Jallow to publicly release the bill through their official websites, social media platforms and every other appropriate public channel.
There can be no meaningful public participation in lawmaking when citizens are denied access to the proposed law. Laws belong to the people and must be made with the participation of the people. There is no democratic legitimacy in keeping legislation within the corridors of power and then presenting it to citizens as a fait accompli.
The government must therefore provide the public with immediate and unfettered access to the Bill and allow sufficient time for researchers, academics, civil society, professional bodies, businesses, political parties, media organizations, and ordinary citizens to examine and respond to it.
The Gambia does not need laws that tell citizens what they may research. It needs institutions that can withstand scrutiny, citizens who can ask difficult questions, and a government confident enough to allow the truth to be investigated.
We must resist every attempt to shrink democratic space, whether through control of the media, control of information or control of research. A government that fears questions will eventually seek to control the people who ask them. The Gambian people must not allow that to happen.