By Alieu Ceesay
Democratic Party leader Yusupha A. Dumbuya was the first aspiring presidential candidate to arrive at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) headquarters on Wednesday to submit his nomination papers ahead of the December 5 presidential election.
While reviewing his credentials, the Commission identified several missing supporting documents, including bank deposit receipts and educational certificates. The IEC instructed Dumbuya to submit the outstanding documents by November 15, 2026. Missing documents could jeopardize his chances of contesting.
Speaking to journalists afterward, Dumbuya outlined his party’s key promises: affordable housing for all Gambians, free education, and a new constitution. He also criticized the current government for shortcomings in the security and health sectors.
“The time is right to uplift our people to greater economic prosperity. The time is right to fight for the students at the university and the high school students. The time is right for free education for those earning a hundred thousand dollars or less,” Dumbuya said. He added that Gambians deserve economic sovereignty and free prescriptions for low-income people.
Addressing the housing crisis, he said: “The time is right for housing. I cannot sleep knowing that being a Gambian living in the West and living in The Gambia is very saddening and alarming. Non-emotional places like Banjul and everywhere—they take our country; we must take our country back. They come and meet us here. The rise in the cost of living is high, the rents are high.”
Next to submit her credentials was Dr. Isatou Touray, former Vice President under the same administration she is now challenging. She became the first female candidate to file for the December election. She arrived with supporters marching to Election House, some carrying local drums and staging symbolic acts suggesting they were “sleeping off” the current administration.
“Women want economic independence and equal opportunity. Farmers, workers and businesses want an environment in which they can grow and prosper. Our people are not asking for miracles. They are asking for leadership that listens, institutions that work, fair opportunities and a government that takes its responsibilities seriously,” Touray said.
She acknowledged she was part of a government “that did not deliver everything it promised.”
“For too many poor and rural families, meaningful improvements in livelihoods, access to services and economic opportunity remain out of reach. National development must be measured not by the announcement of headline figures, but by whether people can see and feel the difference in their daily lives,” she added. She stressed that farmers need reliable support, access to markets, infrastructure and a fair return for their work.
Touray previously served as Minister of Trade and then Minister of Health before she was appointed Vice President on 15 March 2019. Both candidates’ nominations remain subject to full verification by the IEC.
