The election umpire in the Gambia, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), has announced its plans for the country’s upcoming general elections scheduled to hold in 2021, setting December 4, 2021, as the official date for the presidential polls.

The Commission made this known through a statement that contained the calendar for the elections. Party nominations for presidential candidates will kick off on October 30, 2021, and end on November 5, 2021, while presidential campaigns are scheduled from November 9 to December 1 of the same year. The calendar also indicated that the voter registration period starts on January 14 and ends on February 26, 2021, and the new Constitution will be put to a referendum on June 5.

President Barrow goes back on his word

Prior to the current administration, Gambia had been under the iron-fist leadership of former President Yahya Jammeh, who ruled for 22 years starting in 1994. In a bid to oust the corrupt Jammeh, a coalition formed by Ousseinou Darboe, the president of the main opposition party, the United Democratic Party (UDP), and seven other parties who eventually settled on incumbent President Adama Barrow as their candidate at the 2016 polls.

In a surprise victory, the IEC had on December 2, 2016, declared Barrow the winner of the one-round elections with 45.54% against Jammeh who received 36.6% of the total votes cast. Sworn in on January 19, 2017, for an initial five-year term, President Barrow had promised to serve as a transitional president for three years, resigning from power and organizing another democratic election for a successor.

However, President Barrow reneged on his promise when he not only decided to see his five-year tenure through but also run for a second term under his newly formed National Peoples Party (NPP). His decision to hold on to power has fueled several violent protests in the Gambia, a country of over 2 million residents.