Africa-Press – Gambia. Opposition United Democratic Party released a statement expressing its “deep concern” at the Gambia Immigration Department’s recent announcement regarding the deployment of a mobile national ID card registration team to Mauritania.
It stated that while the government claimed the initiative was meant to protect Gambians abroad, it found the explanation “dubious given the Barrow administration’s longstanding refusal to implement diaspora voting under the pretext of logistical and financial constraints”.
The statement added: “The Barrow NPP government has repeatedly denied Gambians in the diaspora the right to vote, citing lack of resources and constituency-based registration. Yet, suddenly, the same government can mobilise a high-level delegation, including immigration officers, State Intelligence Services (SIS) agents, and Foreign Ministry officials, to Mauritania to issue national identity cards instead of consular IDs or emergency travel documents that could be issued by The Gambia Embassy in Mauritania. If the government can afford this expensive foreign mission, why can’t it first ensure that all Gambians inside The Gambia have proper IDs to eliminate the need for fraudulent attestations?
“The real agenda seems to be voter manipulation ahead of 2026. This move is not about protecting Gambians abroad. It is a calculated scheme to register non-Gambians (particularly in border regions like Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania) as ‘Gambian voters’. They will thus be easily transported during elections to swing votes in favour of President Barrow, just as was done in 2021 using attestations.
‘This is a scheme to expand the fraudulent attestation system internationally, bypassing scrutiny. Why Mauritania first? Mauritania has a significant Gambian migrant population, including many without clear documentation, and the government is testing this model before expanding to Senegal and other neighbouring countries.
National ID cards are for citizens inside The Gambia, not abroad. The Gambia already has mechanisms to assist citizens abroad. Consular IDs are issued by embassies for identification; emergency passports for travel are issued by embassies and counsellor offices; and birth certificates are issued by the Ministry of Health. So why issue national IDs outside The Gambia? Because national IDs are directly linked to voter registration. This is a backdoor attempt to inflate the voter register ahead of 2026.
“UDP demands immediate transparency and accountability and calls for the National Assembly to summon the Minister for the Interior and GID director to explain the legal basis for issuing national IDs abroad; the criteria used to verify ‘Gambian citizenship’ in Mauritania; the total cost of this operation and its funding source; civil society and the media investigate this scheme; and the international community – Ecowas, AU, UN – to monitor potential electoral manipulation that could lead to conflict.
“This is a dangerous precedent for electoral fraud, and the UDP warns all Gambians to remain vigilant against this government’s attempts to undermine democracy. If Barrow truly cared about Gambians abroad, he would have implemented diaspora voting, not a shady ID issuance scheme that reeks of electoral fraud. We will not allow this government to rig another election,” the statement concluded.
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