In March and April 2026, the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services (MoIMBS) of The Gambia, acting in concert with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), initiated a series of consultations on three interrelated regulatory instruments: the National Press Accreditation Policy, the Broadcasting and Online Content Regulations, and the Journalist Registration Guidelines 2026. Together, these draft instruments seek to vest sweeping powers in PURA a state-controlled body to register, accredit, suspend, and deregister journalists, online media houses, and social media users with a significant public reach (referred to in the regulations as ‘SPURs’).
The proposed framework represents a fundamental departure from the existing self-regulatory architecture established since The Gambia’s democratic transition in 2017. Under the current system, the Media Council of The Gambia (MCG) provides independent ethical oversight, while the Gambia Press Union (GPU) serves as the principal body for journalist accreditation. The draft regulations would effectively displace these independent structures and replace them with a state-controlled licensing regime administered through PURA.
The response from media organisations and civil society has been swift and unified, rejecting the proposed regulations. Media stakeholders held an emergency meeting on 8 April 2026, resolving to boycott the government’s consultation process entirely, arguing that participation would lend illegitimate credibility to a process designed to introduce state-controlled media.
As of June 2026, the government has not publicly announced the withdrawal of any of the draft instruments. The regulations therefore remain under consideration and could be advanced toward gazettement at any time. As The Gambia approaches its December 2026 presidential election, the timing and scope of these measures make this among the most significant civic-space developments in the country since the fall of the Jammeh regime.