At Stake in this Election:        

• 53 out of 58 seats in the National Assembly of The Gambia 

Government Structure: 

• Chief of State: President Adama BARROW (since 19 January 2017) 
• Head of Government: President Adama BARROW (since 19 January 2017) 
• Assembly: The National Assembly of The Gambia is a unicameral legislature consisting of 53 directly elected seats and five which are appointed. 

Electoral System: [1]

• The National Assembly of The Gambia is a unicameral legislature consisting of 58 members who serve five-year terms. Five seats are appointed by the president, while the remaining 53 members are directly elected within single-seat constituencies using a first-past-the-post system. 
• The President of The Gambia is elected in a single round using a first-past-the-post-system. Terms last five years, and there are no constitutional limitations on the number of times an incumbent can run for re-election.  

NOTE: The Gambia employs a unique voting system in which marbles take the place of traditional paper ballots. Citizens cast their votes by dropping a marble down a tube that leads to a sealed drum of their chosen candidate. These drums are painted in party colors and are adorned with the corresponding photographs of candidates. Bells chime at the drop of each marble to inhibit any potential voter fraud. The marbles are counted and tallied once polls close. [2]

Last Election: 

• The previous Gambian elections were held 4 December 2021 to elect the president. The last legislative elections occurred on 6 April 2017. 

Main Parties in this Election: 

• Party: United Democratic Party (UDP) 
  • Leader: Ousainou DARBOE 
  • Seats won in last election: 23 
• Party: National Reconciliation Party (NRP) 
  • Leader: Hamat BAH 
  • Seats won in last election: 5 
• Party: Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) 
  • Leader: Fabakary JATTA 
  • Seats won in last election: 5 
• Party: Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) 
  • Leader: Mama KANDEH 
  • Seats won in last election: 5 
• Party: People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) 
  • Leader: Halifa SALLAH 
  • Seats won in last election: 4 
• Party: People’s Progressive Party (PPP) 
  • Leader: Mohamadou Musa NJIE 
  • Seats won in last election: 2 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 2,413,403 (2022 est.) [3]
• Registered Voters: 962,157 (2021) [4]

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 1,124,691 (2021 est.) [5]
• Is The Gambia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (signed 29 July 1980) [6]
• Has The Gambia ratified CEDAW: Yes (ratified 16 April 1993) [7]
• Gender Quota: No [8]
• Female candidates in this election: 19 out of 251 [9]
• Number of Female Legislators: 5 out of 58 [10]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: Rank 172 at 0.496 (2020) [11] 
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A  

Disability Data: 

• Is The Gambia a signatory to CRPD: No [13]
• Has The Gambia ratified CRPD: Yes (acceded on 6 July 2015) [14] 
• Population with a disability: 295,156 (2022 est.) [15]

[1] https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gambia-the/#government

[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-59476637

[3] https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gambia-the/#people-and-society

[4] https://iec.gm/

[5] https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gambia-the/#people-and-society

[6] https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en

[7] Ibid.

[8] https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20200925-widespread-disappointment-in-gambia-after-new-constitution-voted-down

[9] https://iec.gm/registration/nominated-candidates-national-assembly-elections-9th-april-2022/

[10] https://www.ipu.org/parliament/GM

[11] http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/GMB

[12] https://www.genderindex.org/country-profiles/

[13] https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=176&Lang=EN

[14] Ibid.

[15] http://www.electionaccess.org/en/resources/countries/gm/all/