PRESS RELEASE
Banjul, The Gambia: Cabo Verde’s former Prime Minister, Dr Ulisses Correia E Silva, is leading the 90-member ECOWAS Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the presidential election scheduled for 5 December 2026 in The Gambia.
Made up of 20 Long-term and 70 Short-term Observers, the Mission has been authorised by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, General Birame Diop (rtd), in accordance with relevant provisions of the ECOWAS legal instruments, particularly the 2001 Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, on assistance to member States holding elections.
The Long-term observers, comprising experts in election matters, including constitutional and electoral laws, election administration, security, diplomacy, political affairs, conflict management, as well as gender, civil society and the media, were deployed on Monday 10 November.
They will be joined before the elections by their short-term colleagues drawn from the ECOWAS Permanent Representatives’ Committee, member States’ Foreign Affairs Ministries and Electoral Management Bodies, the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, Community institutions (Parliament and Court of Justice), Civil Society Organisations and the Media.
The Mission will be supported by a Technical Team from the Commission, led by the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Madam Francess Piagie Alghali, supported by the Director of Political Affairs, Dr Babatunde Afolabi and Mr Serigne Mamadou Ka, Head of the Electoral Assistance Division.
The Mission will hold consultations with various stakeholders, including political parties, the Independent Electoral Mission, civil society groups and representatives of development partners. It will also establish a Situation Room to monitor developments and draw ECOWAS authorities’ attention to necessary proactive intervention.
The Mission will monitor key stages of the electoral process before, during and after the vote. Its analyses will serve as early-warning and rapid-response mechanisms to help prevent and manage possible election-related disputes or conflict and ensure that the electoral process complies with regional instruments and meets international standards.
The Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) registered 1,146,474 voters from an estimated population of 2.9 million for the 2026 election.
Voters will cast their ballots in 1,773 polling stations across 43 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in eight Districts.
The IEC Chairman Joseph Kolley announced on 2 November that a total of 27 aspiring presidential candidates, including incumbent President Adam Barrow, had collected nomination forms for the 5 December poll.
The Gambia has 24 registered political parties, and President Barrow, who was elected in December 2016, is seeking a third shot at the presidency under the ruling National People’s Party (NPP). The president is elected through a single-round first-past-the-post (simple majority) system for a five-year term.
The country has a unique electoral system involving the use of marbles instead of paper or digital ballots, which voters drop into drums that represent each candidate’s party. It operates under its 1992 constitution used by former President Yahya Jammeh, who was defeated in the 2016 election after a 22-year rule.
ECOWAS led international interventions that led to Jammeh’s exile in Equatorial Guinea following the post-election crisis after he refused to accept electoral defeat by incumbent President Barrow.
A draft constitution initiated under Barrow’s presidency was not passed into law following disagreements between the presidency and the parliament over several issues, including a presidential term limit.
Through the deployment of the observation mission, ECOWAS reaffirms its commitment to supporting Member States in conducting credible, transparent and peaceful elections to consolidate democracy, good governance, and stability in the region.
For further information about the mission, please contact:
Mr Serigne Mamadou Ka, Head of Electoral Assistance Team
ska@ecowas.int or +234 808 888 2132
