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 The Gambiaportal |
Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia in 1947 to elect the one elected member of the Legislative Council. It was the first time that the Council had had a directly elected representative. [1]
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| The Gambiaportal |
Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia in 1947 to elect the one elected member of the Legislative Council. It was the first time that the Council had had a directly elected representative. [1]
In 1946 the Legislative Council was reorganised and increased in size from 11 to 14 members. It would consist of three ex-officio members, three officials, six appointees and one elected member. [2]
The seat was won by Edward Francis Small, [3] the founder of the Gambia Labour Union, who defeated I.M. Garba-Jahumpa (who later founded the Muslim Congress Party) and Sheikh Omar Fye. [4]
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Francis Small | 1,491 | 46.67 |
| Sheikh Omar Fye | 1,018 | 31.86 |
| I.M. Garba-Jahumpa | 679 | 21.25 |
| John Finden Dailey | 4 | 0.13 |
| Richard Rendall | 3 | 0.09 |
| Total | 3,195 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 5,580 | – |
| Source: Hughes & Perfect [5] | ||
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia and Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal, except for its western coast on the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River, which flows through the centre of the country and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The national namesake river demarcates the elongated shape of the country, which has an area of 11,300 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi) and a population of 2,468,569 people in 2024. The capital city is Banjul, which has the most extensive metropolitan area in the country; the second- and third-largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.
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 first written records of the region come from Arab traders in the 9th and 10th centuries. In medieval times, the region was dominated by the Trans-Saharan trade and was ruled by the Mali Empire. In the 16th century, the region came to be ruled by the Songhai Empire. The first Europeans to visit the Gambia River were the Portuguese in the 15th century, in 1447, who attempted to settle on the river banks, but no settlement of significant size was established. Descendants of the Portuguese settlers remained until the 18th century. In the late 16th century, English merchants attempted to begin a trade with the Gambia, reporting that it was "a river of secret trade and riches concealed by the Portuguese."
Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of The Gambia from 1970 to 1994, when he was deposed.
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The National Assembly of the Gambia is the unicameral legislature of the Gambia. The authorisation for the National Assembly lies in Chapter VII of the Constitution of the Gambia. It is composed of 53 members directly elected through first past the post, and a further five members appointed by the President.
Pierre Sarr N'Jie was a Gambian lawyer and politician who served as the Chief Minister of the Gambia from 1961 to 1962. He was the country's first head of government following the declaration of self-rule in 1961. From 1952 until 1977, he was leader of the United Party. He was also a member of the House of Representatives from 1960 to 1972, and de facto Leader of the Opposition for a period, opposite Dawda Jawara.
The Muslim Congress Party was a political party in the Gambia. The party was founded during the pre-independence period to represent the Muslim population in the colony of Bathurst. The party was led by I.M. Garba-Jahumpa. The party emerged from the Bathurst Young Muslim Society.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia in 1951. They were the first election to feature political parties, as the Democratic Party and the Muslim Congress Party had been founded earlier in the year.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia in 1954 following constitutional amendments, which increased the number of elected members on the Legislative Council from three to four, with an additional seven non-elected members. The seven unelected members were the Colonial Secretary, Financial Secretary, the Attorney General, the Senior Commissioner, Dr. S.H.O Jones, and two members appointed by the Governor-general from a list of nine names submitted by the Bathurst Town Council and the Kombo Rural Authority after consultation with members of the council.
Edward Francis Small was a Gambian statesman who has been described as the "trailblazer of Gambian political consciousness." One of the few educated Africans in the Gambia Colony and Protectorate during the early 20th century, Small founded the country's first trade union, the country's first political party, and was the first citizen elected to its legislature. He was also a delegate to and leader of the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA).
Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof commonly known as Cham Joof or Alhaji Cham Joof, was a Gambian historian, politician, author, trade unionist, broadcaster, radio programme director, scout master, Pan-Africanist, lecturer, columnist, activist and an African nationalist who advocated for the Gambia's independence during the colonial era.
In the 1994 Gambian coup d'état, a group of soldiers led by 29-year-old Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh seized power in a bloodless coup d'état on the morning of 22 July, ousting Dawda Jawara, who had been President of The Gambia since it became a Republic in 1970.
The Gambia Colony and Protectorate was the British colonial administration of The Gambia from 1821 to 1965, part of the British Empire in the New Imperialism era. The colony was the immediate area surrounding Bathurst, and the protectorate was the inland territory situated around the Gambia River, which was declared in 1894.
Ahmadiyya in The Gambia is part of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at under the leadership of the Ahmadiyya Caliphate. Ahmadiyya teachings entered Gambia during the era of the Second Caliphate through the flow of Ahmadiyya literature and a number of traders returning to the country. The first missionary to enter the country was Alhaji Hamza Sanyaolo, a Nigerian who entered in 1959. After a number of months he was followed by Gibriel Saeed, a Ghanaian missionary. Since its earliest history in the Gambia, the community has been facing resistance and religious intolerance from certain Muslim clerics and Islamic bodies in the country.
The House of Representatives of the Gambia was the legislature of the Gambia from 1960 to 1994, succeeding the Legislative Council and being succeeded by the National Assembly.
The Legislative Council of the Gambia was the legislature of the Gambia Colony and Protectorate from 1843 to 1866, and from 1888 to 1960.
During the Second World War (1939–1945), the Gambia was part of the British Empire as the Gambia Colony and Protectorate. At the outbreak of war between the British Empire and Nazi Germany in September 1939, the Gambia was home to the Gambia Company of the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF).
Trade unions in The Gambia are regulated under the Labour Act 2007. The first trade union was the Bathurst Trade Union (BTU), founded in 1929, which led a general strike that year. General strikes were also led by the Gambia Workers' Union (GWU) in 1960, 1961, 1967, and 1970, although not all were successful. There are three trade union centres in The Gambia: the Gambia Trade Union Bureau (GamTUB), the Gambian Workers' Confederation (GWC), and the Gambia National Trade Union Congress (GNTUC). The country joined the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1995.
Ibrahima Muhammadu/Momodou Garba-Jahumpa was a Gambian trade union leader and politician who served as the Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Health and Minister for Finance.
