Madar (Banjul) - The Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Thursday, 12 November 2026, announced five official candidates for the presidential election scheduled for 5 December, including President Adama Barrow, who is running for a third term, Africanews reported.
Besides Barrow, the list includes the main opposition leader, Ousainou Darboe, candidate Talib Ahmed Bensouda, as well as Isatou Touray and Modou Lamin Sima of the Alliance of Progressive Citizens (APC), according to the same source.
The announcement, which formalises the nomination process, came after the commission received 18 presidential nomination requests and met each candidate over about a week and a half to receive their paperwork, the outlet said, adding that it was not immediately clear whether more candidates would be named. Two weeks of campaigning are set to start next Monday.
Barrow leads the National People's Party (NPP). The 1997 Constitution allows more than two terms, after lawmakers twice rejected draft constitutions that would have introduced presidential term limits, according to Africanews. Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and a former vice president, is running for president for the fifth time.
Bensouda, who founded his Unite party last year after leaving the UDP, filed his nomination on 7 November amid questions over his eligibility, after a government report recommended his removal as mayor of Kanifing and accused him of financial impropriety, which his party called a "political manoeuvre". He resigned as mayor last week to focus on his bid.
