Africa-Press – Gambia. The Inter-Party Committee (IPC), the umbrella body of all political parties in The Gambia will on Monday convene an emergency meeting following widespread concern over the government’s ongoing controversial policy of issuing national ID cards to Gambians living abroad, most recently in countries like Gabon and Mauritania.
The scheme, supervised by the Gambia Immigration Department (GID), has ignited major political and civic controversy, with critics alleging that it could undermine electoral integrity in advance of the next elections.
The Gambia Immigration Department has dispatched teams to various countries to issue national ID cards and birth certificates to Gambians in the diaspora. While GID officials maintain that the effort is aimed at serving Gambians whose livelihoods depend on possessing valid identification, opposition parties and civic groups have characterised the move as suspicious and potentially politically motivated. They argued that since a national ID is a prerequisite for obtaining a voter’s card, the programme could be a recipe for manipulation, such as granting voting rights to non-Gambians and skewing voter rolls in favour of the incumbent National People’s Party (NPP).
This has escalated political tensions and prompted urgent calls for the Inter-Party Committee (IPC) to address the matter.
Contacted by The Standard yesterday for comments on the matter, the Co-chair of the Inter-Party Committee, Samba Baldeh, said the committee has been closely monitoring the situation and the concerns raised by its members and other concerned Gambians.
He said the committee will meet on Monday to discuss the issue and immediately after the meeting they will issue a statement to announce the outcome and what next. Mr Baldeh disclosed that the committee will consult all political party leaders ahead of Monday’s meeting to be able to come out with a tangible position on the matter.
“This is just to tell you, we are equally concerned about the rationale behind the move. We are also worried about the strong resistance coming from some political parties which we believe could be a recipe for instability and political tensions ahead of the 2026 presidential election,” he said.
He added that the committee is committed to addressing concerns surrounding political matters in the country.
“We are aware that whatever political parties start talking about if you don’t address it the soonest it could lead to something else,” he said.
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