By Mariama Marong
The Kanifing Revising Court has dismissed an objection to Abdoulie Bah’s voter registration, ruling that suspicion alone cannot establish that a person is not a Gambian citizen.
Magistrate Isatou Jallow delivered the ruling after considering an objection filed by Amie Sankanu on 20 July 2026. Sankanu challenged Bah’s registration, alleging that he was not a citizen of The Gambia and was therefore not qualified to be registered as a voter.
The court found that the objector had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove her claims. It consequently ordered that Bah’s name remain on the voters’ register for the constituency in which he registered.
In its ruling, the court stressed that citizenship could not be determined by suspicion, physical appearance, language, occupation or political association.
“The Court cannot determine citizenship based on presumption or suspicion raised by some other people that someone may or may not be a citizen,” the judgment stated.
Testifying before the court, Sankanu said she had lived in Kololi for 15 years and had served as a polling agent since 2016. She told the court that she had never seen Bah in the community before he registered to vote.
According to Sankanu, Bah was accompanied to the voter registration centre by Amadou Sanneh, whom she identified as an agent of the National People’s Party (NPP).
She said Sanneh introduced Bah as their community imam.
Sankanu further told the court that Bah presented a birth certificate to officials of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and was subsequently issued a voter card.
However, during cross-examination, she acknowledged that IEC officials had not rejected Bah’s application after he submitted his birth certificate.
She also admitted that she could not determine whether a person was a Gambian citizen simply by looking at them.
In his defence, Bah told the court that he was born in Serekunda and had lived in Kololi for more than five years.
He explained that Sanneh accompanied him to the registration centre because he had encouraged him to register as a voter. Bah said he was often occupied with leading prayers and teaching, which made it difficult for him to find time for the registration process.
Bah maintained that he personally presented his documents to IEC officials and that his application was approved after he submitted a birth certificate.
He told the court that he obtained the birth certificate in Banjul about five years earlier.
The court also heard evidence about Bah’s family background. His mother was from Basse, while his father was originally from Guinea.
Despite his father’s origins, Bah maintained that he was a Gambian citizen.
In reaching its decision, Magistrate Jallow considered Section 13(1) of the Elections Act, 2025, which sets out the requirements for voter registration.
Under the provision, a person is entitled to register as a voter if they are a Gambian citizen, have attained or will attain the age of 18 by the next election, and are resident in or were born in the constituency concerned.
The magistrate also referred to Section 13(2), which recognises a birth certificate, Gambian passport, National Identity Card or an attestation from an Alkalo or Seyfo certifying Gambian citizenship as documents that may be used for voter registration.
The court said the responsibility rested on Sankanu, as the objector, to prove the allegations she had made against Bah.
In assessing the evidence, Magistrate Jallow found that the objection was based largely on suspicion arising from the circumstances surrounding Bah’s registration and the fact that he had been accompanied by Sanneh.
The magistrate said that although Bah’s presence at the registration centre with another person might have raised questions for the objector, this did not amount to proof that he was not a Gambian citizen.
The court emphasised that suspicion, even when genuinely held, could not replace evidence in judicial proceedings.
It further observed that citizenship could not properly be determined by a person’s physical appearance, language, occupation or political association.
The magistrate found that Sankanu had failed to present evidence establishing that Bah was not a Gambian citizen or that he did not reside in the constituency where he registered.
Magistrate Jallow consequently dismissed the objection, ruling that Sankanu had failed to prove her allegations.
The court ordered that Bah’s name remain on the voters’ register for the relevant constituency.
It further directed that the appropriate entry be made in accordance with Section 28(6) of the Elections Act, 2025.