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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Parliamentary elections were held in The Gambia on 6 April 2017. They were first parliamentary elections since the inauguration of Adama Barrow as President and resulted in a landslide victory for the United Democratic Party, which won 31 of the 53 seats.
Momodou Lamin K. Sanneh is a Gambian politician who served as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and served as the National Assembly Member (NAM) for Kiang West from 2007 to 2012, as well as the National Assembly Minority Leader in the same time period.
Lamin K. Saine is a Gambian politician and former security official who is one of five nominated members of the National Assembly appointed by President Yahya Jammeh following the 2012 parliamentary election. Saine also served as Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2013.
Modou Bamba Gaye is a Gambian politician who was the National Assembly Member for Lower Saloum, representing the National Reconciliation Party (NRP), from a 2015 by-election to the 2017 parliamentary election.
Muhammed Magassy is a Gambian independent politician, who has been the National Assembly Member for Basse since 2012.
The National People's Party is a Gambian political party centred around the leadership of the incumbent President of the Gambia, Adama Barrow.
Parliamentary elections were held in The Gambia on 9 April 2022 to elect members of the 58-seat National Assembly.
