On 2 December, before the final results were announced, Jammeh graciously conceded defeat, shocking a populace that had expected him to retain power. BBC News called it "one of the biggest election upsets West Africa has ever seen".[4] The final official results showed Barrow winning a 43.3% plurality, achieving a 3.7% margin of victory over Jammeh's 39.6%—with a third candidate, Mama Kandeh, receiving 17.1% of the votes. Following the election, 19 opposition prisoners were released, including Ousainou Darboe, the leader of Barrow's United Democratic Party (UDP). There was widespread celebration of the result by the opposition, along with some caution over whether the transition would proceed without incident.
Initially, Jammeh conceded and congratulated Barrow. However, on 9 December Jammeh announced that he was rejecting the results and called for a new election, sparking a constitutional crisis. Troops were deployed in Banjul, the capital city, and Serekunda, the country's largest city. Jammeh's rejection of the results was condemned by several internal and external bodies, including the Gambia bar association, the Gambia teachers' union, the Gambia Press Union, the University of the Gambia, the Gambia medical association, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The situation further escalated on 19 January, when Jammeh's term expired and Barrow was sworn in as president on Gambian soil at the embassy in Senegal. Despite extensive diplomatic efforts that included the personal involvement of several African heads of state, an ECOWAS military intervention took place.
Finally, on 21 January, Jammeh left the Gambia for an ECOWAS-arranged exile, allowing the transition of power to take place.[5] According to the Senegalese government and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, during the dispute around 45,000 people fled to Senegal and at least another 800 people fled to Guinea-Bissau.[6]
Instead of using paper ballots, elections in the Gambia are conducted using marbles. Each voter receives a marble and places it in a tube on top of a sealed drum that corresponds to that voter's favoured candidate. The drums for different candidates are painted in different colours corresponding to the party affiliation of the candidate, and a picture of the candidate is affixed to their corresponding drum. The system has the advantages of low cost and simplicity, both for understanding how to vote and for counting the results. The method is reported to have an extremely low error rate for miscast ballots.[11]
Two other political parties—the National Democratic Action Movement (NDAM) and the Gambia Democratic Party (GDP)—had been considered for recognition in the election, but were disqualified by the commission under the rules established for the election, which included residency requirements for the party officials, the establishment of offices in the seven administrative regions of The Gambia, and the submission of audited accounting records.[17] The leader of the NDAM, Lamin Waa Juwara, also encouraged the formation of a coalition to unseat Jammeh.[18]
The two-week period of the official election campaigns was peaceful, and it included many large rallies by both Jammeh's supporters and opposition parties.[19] However, before the election, concerns had been raised about the government cracking down on the political opposition and using state resources and its domination of mass media to influence the outcome.[19] President Jammeh had said that protests after the election would not be tolerated, saying "In this country we don't allow demonstrations."[19] Mobile messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Viber were blocked by Gambian authorities in the period before the election, and during the election, internet access and international phone calls were also blocked.[19][20] International observers from the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States were banned from monitoring the election, but a few observers from the African Union were allowed access.[2]
Adama Barrow, a real estate businessman who had not previously held any political office, said that, if elected, he would set up a temporary transition government formed of members from the opposition coalition and would step down from the presidency within three years.[2][21]
Barrow referred to Jammeh as a "soulless dictator", and said that if elected, he would reverse some of Jammeh's key actions, including Jammeh's decisions for The Gambia to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations and from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.[2][7] He also said he would establish a two-term limit for the office of the presidency and conduct judicial reform, emphasising an independent judiciary.[22] Barrow said he wanted to "put aside all party, tribal, religious, gender and other differences" to "unify a divided nation" and "promote and consolidate Democracy, Rule of Law, Good Governance and respect for the Human Rights of our people".[16]
The only recognised opposition party not in the coalition, the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), fielded its own candidate—Mama Kandeh, a former deputy of the APRC ruling party who had been expelled by the APRC.[13] The GDC was The Gambia's youngest political party.[23] It was formed in the summer of 2016 by Kandeh along with some other former key members and supporters of the APRC.[23] It had gained some popular support and was involved in some of the early discussions that led to the formation of the coalition, but the negotiations broke down about its position in the alliance and the attitude of some members of the other parties toward the GDC, so it did not join.[23] Some members of other opposition groups accused the GDC and its backers of trying to divide the opposition voting constituency so that Jammeh would win.[23]
Results
Jammeh conceded to Barrow on 2 December before the results were released.[2] Jammeh called and congratulated Barrow on his victory, saying "you are elected president of The Gambia, and I wish you all the best", and adding "I have no ill will."[3] He also proposed to arrange to meet with Barrow toward organising the transition process for his new presidency.[2] On state television he said he would "take the backseat" and not contest the results, further saying "I will help him work towards the transition."[4]BBC News said the outcome was a "huge surprise", as most had expected Jammeh would do whatever was necessary to retain power.[2]
After the election commission released ballot results on 2 December,[2] it reported modified results on 5 December, saying there had been an error in the counting. The modified results showed a smaller lead for Barrow (reducing the margin of victory from 8.8% to 3.7%) and a 9.1% lower number of total votes cast.[24]
Following the announcement of the results of the elections, opposition supporters widely celebrated the surprise victory and were stunned by Jammeh's concession of defeat.[8] Thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Banjul, the capital city.[22] However, some expressed caution about what Jammeh might do next—suggesting that he could still try to retain power despite what had happened. A businessman said, "I will only believe it when I see him leaving state house. He still controls the army, and his family are the top brass."[8]
The fear that Jammeh would try to cling to power proved well-founded when, on 9 December, Jammeh appeared on Gambian state television and said he had "decided to reject the outcome of the recent election" due to "serious and unacceptable abnormalities ... during the electoral process". He declared that a new election must be held under "a god-fearing and independent electoral commission" and refused to leave office.[25] Despite extensive diplomatic efforts that included several African heads of state, the situation further escalated until there was a military intervention by armed forces from several nearby ECOWAS countries that forced Jammeh to leave. On 21 January 2017, Jammeh finally left the Gambia for an ECOWAS-arranged exile—initially in Guinea.[5]
Related Research Articles
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.
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.
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is a Gambian politician and former military officer, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017, as well as Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council from 1994 to 1996.
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 Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) is a political party in The Gambia. Founded by army officers who staged the 1994 coup, it was the ruling party from 1996 to 2016 under President Yahya Jammeh.
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.
Ousainou Darboe is a Gambian politician and leader of the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP). He previously served as Vice-President of the Gambia and Minister of Women's Affairs from June 2018 to March 2019, under President Adama Barrow. He also served as President Barrow's Minister of Foreign Affairs from February 2017 to June 2018.
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.
Fabakary Tombong Jatta is a Gambian politician who has served as Speaker of the National Assembly since 2022 and the leader of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) since 2017.
Mama Kandeh is a member of the Pan-African Parliament from the Gambia. He is the founding leader of the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) political party, which he formed in the summer of 2016. He ran as a candidate in the Gambian presidential election of 2016 and received 17.1% of the votes.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia on 29 March 2012. The ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) won 43 of the 48 elected seats.
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.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2337 was a measure unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 19 January 2017. It expressed support for efforts by ECOWAS to peacefully resolve the 2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis, calling on President Yahya Jammeh to step down and allow a peaceful transition to the President-elect, Adama Barrow, as well as supporting the African Union and ECOWAS decisions in recognizing Adama Barrow as the new president. The measure was adopted by a vote of 15 supporting, none opposed, and none abstained.
Samba Jallow is a Gambian politician who has served in the National Assembly representing Niamina Dankunku since 2012. A member of the National Reconciliation Party, Jallow also served as Minority Leader in the National Assembly from 2012 to 2022.
Gambia Democratic Congress is a political party in the Gambia led by Mama Kandeh, a former APRC National Assembly member. It was formed in 2016 and is standing candidates in the 2017 parliamentary election. After its foundation, Kandeh toured the Gambia, attracting "huge" crowds. The initial deputy leader, Facuru Sillah, later left the party after a dispute with Kandeh. Kandeh ended up as the third with 12.32% of the vote in the 2021 election, which was won by incumbent president Adama Barrow.
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.
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.
Parliamentary elections were held in The Gambia on 9 April 2022 to elect members of the 58-seat National Assembly.
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