The Gambia Votes For A New National Assembly

Gambians have gone to the polls to vote for a new National Assembly in an election set to consolidate a young democracy.

Polls opened at 8am (08:00 GMT) and closed at 5pm (17:00 GMT) for the election of 53 legislators for a five-year term, with incumbent President Adam Barrow picking five others, including the parliament’s president. Results were expected on Sunday.

About 40 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) observers are deployed across seven administrative regions to monitor the electoral process in The Gambia, a tiny country almost entirely enveloped by Senegal.

Barrow rose to power in 2017 after winning the presidential election that marked the end of Yahya Jammeh’s rule with the latter fleeing the country following a military intervention led by ECOWAS.

In December last year, Barrow was re-elected president in what was largely seen as a test for democratic stability in Africa’s smallest country.

Jeggan Johnson of the Open Society Foundation’s Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project said the likelihood is that Barrow will take the majority of the house and be able to draw from the support of splinter actors, such as independent candidates,”.

If such a scenario materialises, Barrow could win two-thirds of parliament with major implications, Johnson added.

Barrow faces a fragmented and unpopular opposition which may work in his favour.

The Gambia is among the world’s 15 least-developed countries in the world, according to the United Nations.