IEC began training to fight electoral fake news

A two-day fake-news training workshop just kicked off in Bijilo as The Gambia's election body gears up for supplementary voter registration in April 2026.

IEC tackles misinformation head-on

• Joseph Colley, IEC Chairman, opened the workshop at Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre.
• Colley flagged recent bogus claims about secret voter registrations and shady recruitment.
• Official press releases and fact-checkers already debunked those false narratives.
• The Commission's website and social media are its only legit info sources.

Who showed up for the training

• Political parties, civil society groups, and media reps all attended.
• Security services and the Inter-Party Committee were in the mix.
• UNDP bankrolled the whole workshop as a development partner.
• Cherno M. Jallow, IEC Deputy Chairman, and UNDP's Sainey Ceesay spoke at the event.

Sessions and presenters

• Isatou Keita, Gambia Press Union president, delivered a presentation.
• Dr. Adama Touray, Mariama Danso, and Demba Kandeh from UTG contributed sessions.
• Topics covered include misinformation dynamics, sourcing, and electoral impact.
• Identifying fake news and understanding who spreads it were key focal points.

Colley on political-party registration

• Colley stressed nobody gets unjustifiably blocked from political participation.
• The Gambia operates as a multiparty democracy with open registration.
• Aspiring parties and candidates just need to hit all legal requirements.
• Colley thanked the government for backing an open political environment.