Politics of The Gambia takes place within the framework of a presidential republic,whereby the President of The Gambia is both head of state and head of government,and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliaments.
The United Democratic Party is a political party in the Gambia,founded in 1996 by 3 political parties and choose the human rights lawyer,freedom fighter,ANM Ousainou Darboe to be the party leader and Secretary General. As a candidate in the presidential election of 18 October 2001,he came second with 32.6% of the popular vote;he took second place again in the 22 September 2006 presidential election with 26.7% of the vote. The 17 January 2002 parliamentary election was boycotted by the party. In the 25 January 2007 parliamentary election,the party won four out of 48 seats.
The People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) is a socialist political party in the Gambia. Since 2005,it has been part of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD). It was part of Coalition 2016 in the 2016 presidential election,whose candidate,Adama Barrow,defeated long-time incumbent Yahya Jammeh. The PDOIS also publishes a party newspaper,Foroyaa,which was noted for its opposition to the Jammeh regime.
The People's Progressive Party is a political party in the Gambia. It was the dominant ruling party of the House of Representatives and the presidency from 1962 to 1994. The president throughout this time period was Dawda Jawara. The People's Progressive Party lost power after the 1994 Gambian coup d'état,a military coup led by young,junior military officers. The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) then became the dominant party of the Gambia. The People's Progressive Party remains active,but lacking the same level of support it garnered in the 20th century.
Halifa Sallah is a retired Gambian politician and former National Assembly member for Serrekunda Constituency. He currently serves as the secretary-general of the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS). He served as a spokesman and advisor to President Adama Barrow from during the 2016 presidential election campaign until March 2017.
The National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) is a three-party coalition (previously five parties) of Gambian opposition political parties.
Hamat Ngai Kumba Bah is a Gambian politician who is the current Minister of Tourism and Culture in President Adama Barrow's cabinet. He is also the leader of the National Reconciliation Party (NRP) and has been a presidential candidate in 1996,2001 and 2011. He was the National Assembly Member for Upper Saloum from 1997 to 2005.
Presidential elections were held in The Gambia on 1 December 2016. In a surprise result,opposition candidate Adama Barrow defeated long-term incumbent Yahya Jammeh. The election marked the first change of presidency in The Gambia since a military coup in 1994,and the first transfer of power by popular election since independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.
Isatou Touray is a Gambian politician,activist,and social reformer. A noted campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM),she became the first female Gambian presidential candidate in 2016,before dropping out to endorse Adama Barrow and Coalition 2016. She then served in Barrow's cabinet,as trade minister,and then as health minister. On 15 March 2019,Touray became Vice-President of The Gambia,replacing her predecessor,Ousainou Darboe in a major cabinet reshuffle.
Adama Barrow is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017.
Gambia Coalition 2016 was the governing coalition of The Gambia in the late 2010s,consisting of seven Gambian political parties,civil society groups and one independent candidate created to field and support a unity ticket for the opposition in the 2016 presidential election. The coalition selected real estate developer and deputy treasurer of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Adama Barrow as their candidate. Barrow officially left the UDP to allow him to run as an independent candidate,although his candidacy continued to be supported by the UDP through its membership in the coalition.
A constitutional crisis occurred in Gambia following presidential elections in December 2016,in which challenger Adama Barrow achieved an upset victory over longtime incumbent Yahya Jammeh. It eventually concluded after a military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led to Jammeh’s departure from the country.
Aja Fatoumata C.M. Jallow-Tambajang is a Gambian politician and activist who served as Vice-President of the Gambia and Minister of Women's Affairs from February 2017 to June 2018,under President Adama Barrow.
Amadou Sanneh is a Gambian accountant and politician who was Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs in President Barrow's cabinet from 1 February 2017 to 15 March 2019. A former national treasurer of the United Democratic Party,Sanneh was sentenced to five years imprisonment in December 2013 for his role in supporting an asylum application. He was released by presidential pardon on 30 January 2017.
Following his victory in the presidential election on 1 December 2016,the newly elected President Adama Barrow appointed a new cabinet to succeed the cabinet of Yahya Jammeh,his predecessor. Barrow was formally inaugurated on 19 January 2017 at the embassy of the Gambia in Dakar,Senegal,and was able to return the Gambia on 26 January. He made the bulk of appointments in February 2017,and conducted major reshuffles in June 2018,March 2019 and May 2022.
Omar Amadou Jallow was a Gambian politician who was the Minister of Agriculture in President Adama Barrow's cabinet. Jallow was also the leader of the People's Progressive Party,which held two seats in the National Assembly at the time of his death.
Lamin N. Dibba was a Gambian politician who was the Minister of Agriculture in Adama Barrow's cabinet from 9 July 2018 to 15 March 2019. He previously served as Minister of Lands and Regional Government from 2017 to 2018.
Three Years Jotna was a political advocacy group in the Gambia between 2019 and 2021 that staged protests advocating for the resignation of President Adama Barrow.
The National People's Party is a Gambian political party centred around the leadership of the incumbent President of the Gambia,Adama Barrow.
Presidential elections were held in the Gambia on 4 December 2021. The result was a victory for incumbent President Adama Barrow of the National People's Party,who received 53% of the vote,defeating five other candidates.
