Politics of the

Gambia

Politics of The Gambia t akes place wit hin t he framework of a president ial republic, whereby t he
President of The Gambia is bot h head of st at e and head of government , and of a mult i-part y
syst em. Execut ive power is exercised by t he government . Legislat ive power is vest ed in bot h t he
government and parliament s.

The 1970 const it ut ion of The Gambia, which divided t he government int o independent execut ive,
legislat ive, and judicial branches, was suspended aft er t he 1994 milit ary coup. As part of t he
t ransit ion process, t he Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) est ablished t he
Const it ut ion Review Commission (CRC) t hrough decree in March 1995. In accordance wit h t he
t imet able for t he t ransit ion t o a democrat ically elect ed government , t he commission draft ed a
new const it ut ion for The Gambia which was approved by referendum in August 1996. The
const it ut ion provides for a president ial syst em, a unicameral legislat ure, an independent judiciary,
and t he prot ect ion of human right s.

Political conditions
Before t he coup d'ét at in July 1994, The Gambia was one of t he oldest exist ing mult i-part y
democracies in Africa. It had conduct ed freely cont est ed elect ions every 5 years since
independence. Aft er t he milit ary coup, polit icians from deposed President Jawara's People's
Progressive Part y (PPP) and ot her senior government officials were banned from part icipat ing in
polit ics unt il July 2001.

The People's Progressive Part y (PPP) project preparat ion plan, headed by former president
Jawara, had dominat ed Gambian polit ics for nearly 30 years. The last elect ions under t he PPP
regime were held in April 1992.

Following t he coup, a president ial elect ion t ook place in Sept ember 1996, in which ret ired Col.
Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh won 56% of t he vot e. The legislat ive elect ions held in January 1997 were
dominat ed by t he Alliance for Pat riot ic Reorient at ion and Const ruct ion (APRC, t he new
incarnat ion of AFPRC), which capt ured 33 out of 45 seat s. In July 2001, t he ban on Jawara-era
polit ical part ies and polit icians was lift ed. Four regist ered opposit ion part ies part icipat ed in t he
18 Oct ober 2001 president ial elect ion, which t he incumbent , President Yahya Jammeh, won wit h
almost 53% of t he vot es. The APRC maint ained it s st rong majorit y in t he Nat ional Assembly in
legislat ive elect ions held in January 2002, part icularly aft er t he main opposit ion Unit ed
Democrat ic Part y (UDP) boycot t ed t he legislat ive elect ions.

Arch 22 Monument commemorating

the 1994 coup

In 2005 t he polit ical scenario was changed, as five opposit ion part ies unit ed under t he umbrella
of t he Nat ional Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD). NADD t hus represent ed
virt ually all polit ical opposit ion forces in t he count ry. Following t he regist rat ion of NADD, t he High
Court ruled t hat dual part y membership was unconst it ut ional, and as NADD had been regist ered
as a polit ical part y all four opposit ion MPs were dismissed from t he Nat ional Assembly. By-
elect ions were held on 29 Sept ember, in which NADD ret ained t hree of t he four seat s. On 15
November t he same year, t hree high-ranking NADD leaders (including t he Leader of Opposit ion in
t he Nat ional Assembly, Halifa Sallah) were arrest ed on t he grounds of subversion.

On 21 and 22 March 2006, amid t ensions preceding t he 2006 president ial elect ions, an alleged
planned milit ary coup was uncovered. President Yahya Jammeh was forced t o ret urn from a t rip
t o Maurit ania, many suspect ed army officials were arrest ed, and prominent army officials,
including t he army chief of st aff, fled t he count ry. There are claims circulat ing t hat t his whole
event was fabricat ed by t he President incumbent for his own devious purposes—however, t he
veracit y of t hese claims is not known, as no corroborat ing evidence has as yet been brought
forward. It is doubt ful whet her t he full t rut h will ever be known, however, as anyone wit h any
evidence would not be likely t o come forward wit h it in light of t he poor human right s record of
t he Nat ional Int elligence Agency, and t heir well-known penchant for t ort uring and det aining
indefinit ely anyone who speaks up against t he Government .

The next president ial elect ion t ook place on 22 Sept ember 2006. The nominat ions for part y
president ial candidat es were held on 28 August 2006, amid report s of t he Government
int imidat ing and unfairly det aining Opposit ion members and sympat hisers, and of using t he
machinery of st at e (including t he nat ional media arm of t he Government , GRTS), t o gain an unfair
advant age during polit ical campaigns. These report s follow a widely publicised signing of a
Memorandum of Underst anding bet ween t he Government and Opposit ion part ies, init iat ed by t he
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo during a recent visit t o t he count ry. Incumbent president ,
Yahya Jammeh, was reelect ed.

On 31 December 2014, a coup was at t empt ed when a milit ary desert er along wit h support ers
at t acked t he president ial palace. The coup failed and t he alleged ringleader, Lamin Sanneh, was
amongst t hose killed by forces loyal t o Jammeh.[1][2]

Following t he 1 December 2016 elect ions, t he elect ions commission declared Adama Barrow t he
winner of t he president ial elect ion.[3] Jammeh, who had ruled for 22 years, first announced he
would st ep down aft er losing t he 2016 elect ion before declaring t he result s void and calling for
a new vot e, sparking a const it ut ional crisis and leading t o an invasion by an ECOWAS coalit ion.[4]
On 20 January 2017, Jammeh announced t hat he had agreed t o st ep down and would leave t he
count ry allowing Barrow t o t ake up office.[5] On 4 December 2021, Gambian President Adama
Barrow won re-elect ion in t he president ial elect ion. Opposit ion candidat es reject ed t he result s
because of unspecified irregularit ies.[6]
Executive branch

A government ministry signboard

Main office-holders

Office Name Party Since

19
Adama
President Independent January
Barrow
2017

15
Vice- Muhammad
Independent March
President B.S. Jallow
2019

The President is elect ed by popular vot e for a five-year t erm; t he number of t erms is not
rest rict ed. The President appoint s t he members of t he Cabinet .
Legislative branch
The Nat ional Assembly has 53 members, 48 members elect ed for a five-year t erm, and 4
members appoint ed. The Gambia was effect ively a one part y dominant st at e when t he Alliance
for Pat riot ic Reorient at ion and Const ruct ion was in power. Opposit ion part ies were allowed but
were widely considered t o have no real chance of gaining power.

Judicial branch
Supreme Court of t he Gambia (since 1998).

Unt il 1998, t here was a right of appeal from t he Court of Appeal of The Gambia t o t he Judicial
Commit t ee of t he Privy Council in London.

The last case from The Gambia t o be decided by t he Judicial Commit t ee of t he Privy Council
was 'West Coast Air Limit ed v. Gambia Civil Aviat ion Aut horit y and Ot hers U.K.P.C. 39 (15
Sept ember 1998)[1] (ht t p://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/1998/39.ht ml)

Political parties and elections

Presidential elections
Summary of t he 1 December 2016 Gambian president ial elect ion result s
 Candidate Party Votes %

Adama Barrow Coalit ion 2016 227,708 43.3

Yahya Jammeh Alliance for Pat riot ic Reorient at ion and Const ruct ion 208,487 39.6

Mamma Kandeh Gambia Democrat ic Congress 89,768 17.1

Total 525,963 100

Regist ered vot ers/t urnout 886,578 59.3

Source: IEC (ht t ps://web.archive.org/web/20161207154235/ht t p://iec.gm/error-in-t he-t ot al-of

-final-elect ion-result s/) (vot es) IEC (ht t p://iec.gm/regist rat ion/regist rat ion-st at ist ics/#)
(regist ered vot ers)
Parliamentary elections

Party Votes % Seats +/–

Unit ed Democrat ic Part y 142,146 37.47 31 New

Gambia Democrat ic Congress 65,938 17.38 5 New

Alliance for Pat riot ic Reorient at ion and Const ruct ion 60,331 15.91 5 –38

People's Democrat ic Organisat ion for Independence

33,894 8.94 4 New
and Socialism

Nat ional Reconciliat ion Part y 23,755 6.26 5 +4

People's Progressive Part y 9,503 2.51 2 New

Gambia Moral Congress 4,458 1.18 0 New

Nat ional Convent ion Part y 1,773 0.47 0 New

Gambia Part y for Democracy and Progress 1,271 0.34 0 New

Independent s 36,251 9.56 1 –3

Appoint ed seat s 5 –

Total 379,320 100.00 58 +5

Regist ered vot ers/t urnout 886,578 –

Source: IEC (ht t ps://web.archive.org/web/20170418161926/ht t p://iec.gm/download/nat ional-a

ssembly-final-result s-6t h-april-2017/)
Administrative divisions
Local government in The Gambia varies. The capit al cit y, Banjul, has an elect ed t own council. Five
rural divisions exist (Lower River, Cent ral River, Nort h Bank, Upper River, West ern), each wit h a
council cont aining a majorit y of elect ed members. Each council has it s own t reasury and is
responsible for local government services. Tribal chiefs ret ain t radit ional powers aut horised by
cust omary law in some inst ances.

International organisation
participation
The Gambia is a member of t hese int ernat ional organisat ions:

ACP, AfDB, Commonwealt h of Nat ions CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G- The
77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Gambia
IMO, Int elsat (nonsignat ory user), Int erpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, Shelt er
portal
Afrique-A regional housing inst it ut ion owned by 42 African
Count ries OAU, (Now replaced by t he African Union abbreviat ed Politics
AU) OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
portal
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
References

1. "Dlamini-Zuma calls for calm after failed

coup in Gambia" (http://www.news24.com/
Africa/News/Dlamini-Zuma-calls-for-calm-
after-failed-coup-in-Gambia-20150101) .
News24. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
2. "Gambia Failed Coup Attempt" (http://www.
latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-gambia-fail
ed-coup-attempt-20141230-story.html) .
Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
3. Gambia's Jammeh loses to Adama Barrow
in shock election result (https://www.bbc.c
om/news/world-africa-38183906) . BBC
News (2 December 2016). Retrieved 18
December 2016.
4. Gambia leader Yahya Jammeh rejects
election result (https://www.bbc.com/new
s/world-africa-38271480) . BBC News (10
December 2016). Retrieved 18 December
2016.
5. Maclean, Ruth (21 January 2017). "The
Gambia: defeated president backs down
and agrees to go into exile" (https://www.th
eguardian.com/world/2017/jan/20/the-ga
mbia-jammeh-has-agreed-to-leave-new-pre
sident-tweets) . The Guardian. Retrieved
15 October 2018.
6. Felix, Bate; Saine, Pap (5 December 2021).
"Gambian President Barrow wins re-
election; opposition cries foul" (https://ww
w.reuters.com/world/africa/president-barr
 ow-holds-early-lead-gambias-election-2021
-12-05/) . Reuters.

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