By Arret Jatta
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has disclosed that it received more than 1,600 objections to voters registered during the 2026 supplementary voter registration exercise, with the cases set to be determined by revising court magistrates appointed by the chief justice.
Speaking yesterday during the IEC’s monthly stakeholder engagement at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sambujang Njie said the provisional list of voters was displayed at 730 registration centres from July 7th to 16th for corrections, appeals and objections, which was extended to July 27 after a technical glitch omitted voters registered on the first day of the exercise, 8th April.
According to the IEC, the highest number of objections came from Wuli East, which recorded 425 cases, followed by Mansa Konko with 391 and Kerewan with 323. Basse received 236 objections, Brikama 152, Kanifing 130, Janjangbureh 20 and Kaur 17, while Banjul and Kuntaur recorded none.
The CEO said all objections have been processed and linked to the relevant claimant forms before being submitted to the revising court. He added that objections could only be made against persons who registered during the 2026 supplementary exercise and not against voters registered in 2021.
The commission said it will begin serving notices to individuals whose registrations have been challenged in accordance with the Elections Act.
Where necessary, he said, IEC staff will visit communities to locate affected voters.
During the meeting, representatives of civil society organisations urged the commission to handle the process carefully to avoid stoking unnecessary tensions.
They called for increased public sensitisation and security support for IEC officials serving notices, noting that allegations relating to citizenship, residency and age could create misunderstandings if not properly explained.
The IEC assured stakeholders that all objections would be heard by the revising courts before the voter register is finalised.