By Ebunoluwa Sessou

Paradigm Initiative and 12 other civil society organisations have issued a joint communique calling for strong digital rights protections and warnings against internet shutdowns, surveillance and other actions that can undermine transparency and citizen participation in the forthcoming elections.

The call was made at the Digital Rights and Elections in Africa Monitor, DREAM, engagement in Banjul, Gambia organised by Paradigm initiative in conjunction with Give1Project Gambia which introduced civil society actors, journalists, and researchers to the DREAM Toolkit, DREAMT, and unpacked four critical digital threat areas during an election which include Internet Shutdowns, Data Protection and Biometrics, Surveillance and Arbitrary Seizures, and Information Integrity and Deepfakes.

The communique according to PIN calls on the Gambian government, the independent electoral commission, and telecommunications operators to uphold an open, secure, and accessible internet throughout the electoral cycle. It also urges all stakeholders to commit to protecting digital rights and inclusion, ensuring citizens can freely access information and participate in the democratic process without interference.

“An internet shutdown during an election is not just a technical disruption; it is a direct assault on the democratic process and transparency,” said Muhammed Bello Buhari, Programmes Officer at Paradigm Initiative. “Through this Communiqué, civil society in The Gambia is sending a unified message to all duty bearers: we are actively monitoring the digital landscape, and we will not accept any form of digital authoritarianism in 2026.”

Guided by the protections enshrined in Chapter IV of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia, the Personal Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2025, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ACHPR, Resolution 580 on Internet Shutdowns and Elections, PIN and partner organisations in The Gambia issued the joint communiqué to all state and private duty bearers.

The organisations also took the commitment to actively monitoring the digital landscape with rigorous impartiality, pledging to use PIN’s DREAM Toolkit, DREAMT, methodology and the Ripoti platform to document, verify, and globally expose any attempts to subvert the democratic process through digital means.