UDP advises IEC to extend scrutiny period of provisional voter list

The main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) has called on the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to fully reconcile figures from the recently concluded supplementary voter eregistration, insisting that its concerns are aimed at strengthening public confidence in the electoral process rather than accusing the commission of wrongdoing.

Addressing a press conference yesterday at party headquarters in Manjai, UDP leader Ousainu Darboe said the party wanted greater transparency to ensure that “all stakeholders have confidence in the integrity of our electoral process.”

Darboe disclosed that before the registration exercise began, a UDP delegation met with the IEC to discuss safeguards against multiple registrations and proposed technical measures to minimise duplication. However, he said the commission informed the party that such systems could not be implemented before the exercise due to time constraints.

According to Darboe, the party’s analysis of data initially provided by the IEC revealed discrepancies in the registration figures. He said political parties were first given a register containing 179,445 names, leaving a difference of 32,650 voters from the commission’s announced total. Following protests by the UDP, the IEC acknowledged that voters registered on April 8 had been omitted and later added 3,713 names, bringing the total to 183,163.

He said that even after the IEC explained that 14,334 records represented multiple registrations, “there will still be an unaccounted number of 14,598.”

Darboe said the UDP wrote to the IEC on July 16 requesting the complete registration data before and after duplicate deletions, as well as an extension of the scrutiny period to allow political parties and the public sufficient time to examine the final register.

He argued that objections should only begin after the complete register is published, saying many voters had no opportunity to scrutinise the lists because they were released in stages.

While raising these concerns, Darboe stressed that the UDP was “not alleging fraud or wrongdoing on the part of IEC.”

“We are simply asking for a full reconciliation of the figures so that all political parties and the Gambian people can have the confidence that the electoral register accurately reflects the outcome of the registration exercise,” Darboe said.

He also urged UDP supporters to remain peaceful and avoid making accusations against the IEC, saying the party’s objective was “confidence building” and protecting the credibility of The Gambia’s electoral process.