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The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland Africa, and is surrounded by Senegal, except for its western coast on the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia is situated on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the centre of The Gambia and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It has an area of 10,689 square kilometres (4,127 sq mi) with a population of 1,857,181 as of the April 2013 census. Banjul is the Gambian capital and the country's largest metropolitan area. The 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 parliament.
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the leader of The Gambia from 1994 to 2017, firstly as chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 1994 to 1996 and then as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017.
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, and "Gambian Mandela" 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.
Ousainou Darboe is a Gambian politician and lawyer who served as Vice-President of the Gambia and Minister of Women's Affairs from June 2018 to March 2019, under President Adama Barrow. Darboe formerly served as Barrow's Minister of Foreign Affairs from February 2017 to June 2018.
Islam is the major religion in the Gambia, representing 95% of the 2 million population, with the first Muslim communities in the country arriving in 11th century. Islam has therefore had an influence on the Gambia throughout history, and continues to impact its culture, society and politics. The majority of the Gambia's Muslims are Sunni belonging to the Maliki school of jurisprudence, influenced with Sufism. There is a smaller Shiite community, largely stemming form Lebanese and Arab migration. The Ahmadiyya movement is also present. Other religious societies exist in the country, including Catholics, Protestants, Hindus and Traditional African religion.
The Cabinet of The Gambia is responsible for advising the President of The Gambia and for carrying out other functions as prescribed by law. It is composed of the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretaries of State. It is responsible for regulating the procedure of its own meetings and is held accountable for its actions by the National Assembly, according to Sections 74 and 75 of the Constitution of The Gambia.
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 March 15, 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 is the third and current President of the Gambia, in office since 2017.
The State Intelligence Services (SIS), formerly the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), is the intelligence agency of the Gambia. It was founded following the 1994 military coup d'état by the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (APRFC), which was led by Yahya Jammeh. Its current head is Ousman Sowe.
Gambia Coalition 2016, was a coalition of seven Gambian political parties, civil society groups and one independent candidate created to field and support a unity candidate for the Gambian opposition in the 2016 Gambian 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 in the Gambia started after the presidential elections on 1 December 2016, and ended with the outgoing president Yahya Jammeh being forced to step down in favour of his elected successor Adama Barrow on 21 January 2017, after resistance.
The ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia or the ECOWAS Mission in The Gambia – code-named Operation Restore Democracy – is an ongoing military intervention in the Gambia by several West African countries. The intervention was launched to resolve a constitutional crisis caused by a disputed presidential election. The intervention began in January 2017, and in June 2017, the term of the ECOWAS military mission was extended by a year. The mission is ongoing as of August 2020, and is expected to continue through at least 2021.
Abubacarr Marie "Ba" Tambadou is a Gambian lawyer and politician who is currently the Registrar of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, an international court founded by the United Nations Security Council. From 2017 to 2020, Tambadou served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General in Gambian President Adama Barrow's cabinet.
The following lists events in the year 2017 in the Gambia.
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 a major reshuffle in June 2018.
Mariam Jack-Denton, also known as Ajaratou Mariam Denton, is a Gambian lawyer and politician who is the current Speaker of the National Assembly of the Gambia.
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) is a truth commission in The Gambia to investigate the Yahya Jammeh era from 1994 to 2017. The process from the announcement of the commission to its launch lasted from 20 July 2017 to 15 October 2018. Its executive secretary is Baba Galleh Jallow, its lead counsel is Essa M. Faal, and the chairperson of the 11-strong commission is Lamin J. Sise.
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.
References
- ↑ "Gambia". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
- ↑ "The Gambia: President Adama Barrow pledges reforms". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
- ↑ "Gambia, The". freedomhouse.org. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
- ↑ "The Gambia passes bill imposing life sentences for some homosexual acts". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2014-09-08. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 2017-11-02.