UNITE led coalition 2026 has accused the government of the Gambia for deliberately misrepresenting the Commission of Inquiry report in an attempt to influence the electoral process and create grounds for the disqualification of its presidential candidate, Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda.
Addressing a press conference, UNITE Secretary for Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Abdul Aziz Bensouda, argued that the government's recently published White Paper mischaracterises the findings of the Commission of Inquiry and is intended to mislead the public and electoral authorities.
"We believe the White Paper seriously mischaracterises the Constitutional inquiry Report," Bensouda said. "There is no finding in the Commission's report that disqualifies the UNITE candidate."
According to Bensouda, the party's position is that only the actual findings of the Commission are relevant in determining a candidate's eligibility for public office, not the government's interpretation contained in a White Paper.
He maintained that the adverse finding served on Mayor Bensouda in May stated only that he had "exercised political and executive influence in a manner capable of causing or sustaining irregular commitments, unauthorised expenditure, irregular project direction, and extra-statutory financial exposure."
Bensouda argued that the wording did not amount to a finding of corruption, misconduct, negligence, or improper behaviour, which he said would be necessary to affect the mayor's constitutional qualifications.
The UNITE official further criticised the government's handling of the Commission report, alleging that the report was altered after it was submitted to the President in May.
"We checked the metadata and it shows the report was altered after submission," he claimed, describing such changes as unconstitutional and illegal.
He also questioned the preparation of the report, alleging that large portions appeared to have been generated with artificial intelligence.
Throughout the briefing, Bensouda walked journalists through several sections of the Commission report, arguing that while the document contains criticisms of administrative practices, executive influence and governance processes, it does not establish personal liability against Mayor Bensouda for corruption or other offences that would trigger disqualification from elected office.
He pointed specifically to a section of the report stating that persons adversely mentioned should not be treated as criminally convicted and that final personal liability should only be determined after notice, an opportunity to respond, verification of records and attribution of responsibility.
"Final personal liability should be determined after notice," Bensouda said, arguing that the Commission itself did not make a definitive finding against the mayor.
UNITE also accused the government of attempting to politicise the report's release ahead of the nomination period. Bensouda alleged that state resources were being used to influence the outcome of the 2026 elections and warned against actions that could heighten political tensions.
He said the party had written to the Independent Electoral Commission and would also notify members of the diplomatic community of its concerns.
The controversy centres on differing interpretations of the Commission of Inquiry's findings and whether the report contains findings severe enough to affect Mayor Bensouda's eligibility to contest the presidency. UNITE maintains that no such finding exists and insists that the White Paper cannot create disqualifications that are not contained in the Commission's report itself.
