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Government and politics of The Gambia

Published September 27, 2026.

The Gambia is a presidential republic. The President is both head of state and head of government, elected directly for a five-year term. Laws are made by a single-chamber National Assembly, and an independent judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court. The country became independent from Britain in 1965, a republic in 1970, and has had three presidents: Sir Dawda Jawara, Yahya Jammeh and Adama Barrow, who has been in office since 2017.

The system at a glance

Branch or level	Institution	Key points
Executive	President, Vice-President and Cabinet	President directly elected for five years; appoints the Vice-President and ministers.
Legislature	National Assembly	Unicameral; most members directly elected in constituencies, a small number nominated by the President.
Judiciary	Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and lower courts	Headed by the Chief Justice; also Cadi courts and district tribunals.
Local government	Area and municipal councils	Elected councils for Banjul, Kanifing and the regions; chiefs and village heads have traditional roles.
Elections	Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)	Runs presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

The legal foundation is the 1997 Constitution, which remains in force. Efforts to replace it are described below.

The President and the executive

The President leads the government, commands the armed forces, and appoints the Vice-President and Cabinet ministers, who need not be members of the National Assembly. Presidential elections are held every five years using a simple plurality — the candidate with the most votes wins, without a run-off. The 1997 Constitution does not set a limit on the number of presidential terms; introducing term limits has been a central issue in constitutional reform debates.

The National Assembly

The National Assembly is The Gambia's single-chamber parliament, sitting in Banjul. It has around 58 members: the large majority are elected from single-member constituencies, and a handful are nominated by the President. It passes laws, approves the budget, scrutinises government through committees, and must approve constitutional amendments. It is presided over by a Speaker. Parliamentary elections are held every five years, separately from the presidential vote.

The judiciary

Gambian law draws on English common law, statute, customary law and, for personal matters among Muslims, Sharia. The court structure includes:

Supreme Court — the highest court and final court of appeal, also ruling on constitutional questions.
Court of Appeal — hears appeals from the High Court.
High Court — serious criminal and civil cases.
Magistrates' courts — most everyday criminal and civil matters.
Cadi courts — apply Islamic law to marriage, divorce and inheritance among Muslims.
District tribunals — customary law matters in rural areas.

For historical reasons the courts have often relied on judges recruited from other Commonwealth countries, particularly elsewhere in West Africa, alongside Gambian judges.

Local government

The country is divided into local government areas, each with an elected council and chairperson or mayor: Banjul City Council, Kanifing Municipal Council, and area councils for the West Coast, North Bank, Lower River, Central River and Upper River regions (the Central River Region has two councils, at Kuntaur and Janjanbureh). Regions also have centrally appointed governors, and there is a traditional layer of district chiefs (seyfos) and village heads (alkalos). The regions guide explains the geography, and the resident services guide covers everyday dealings with public offices.

Political history since independence

Independence and the Jawara years (1965–1994)

The Gambia became independent on 18 February 1965 as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth, with Dawda Jawara as Prime Minister. It became a republic on 24 April 1970, and Jawara became its first President. His People's Progressive Party governed for nearly three decades, and The Gambia was regarded as one of Africa's longer-running multi-party systems, though his party won every election. In 1981 an attempted coup was put down with Senegalese military help, which led to the Senegambia Confederation between the two countries; it was dissolved in 1989.

The 1994 coup and the Jammeh era (1994–2017)

On 22 July 1994, a group of young army officers led by Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh seized power in a bloodless coup. Jammeh then won the 1996 presidential election under the new constitutional framework (the 1997 Constitution came into force the following year) and was re-elected several times. His 22-year rule is widely documented by human rights organisations and later by the country's own truth commission as a period of serious abuses against journalists, opponents and others. During this time The Gambia left the Commonwealth (2013) and in 2016 announced it would withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

The 2016 election and the transition

In the December 2016 presidential election, opposition coalition candidate Adama Barrow defeated Jammeh. Jammeh first accepted the result and then rejected it, leading to a political crisis. After intense diplomacy by ECOWAS, the African Union and the UN, backed by a regional military deployment, Jammeh left the country in January 2017 and Barrow took office.

Since 2017

The new government reversed the ICC withdrawal, rejoined the Commonwealth in 2018, and established a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), which held public hearings on the abuses of the Jammeh era and issued its report in 2021. Barrow was re-elected in December 2021. For events after that, rely on current news sources — this guide does not attempt to track day-to-day politics.

The constitutional reform process

A Constitutional Review Commission produced a new draft constitution in 2020, including presidential term limits and other reforms. In September 2020 the National Assembly did not pass the bill needed to put the draft to a referendum, so the 1997 Constitution remained in force. Further attempts at constitutional reform have followed since; check official and news sources for the current status.

Elections and the famous marbles

The Gambia is known for a distinctive voting method: instead of paper ballots, voters drop a marble into a drum painted in their chosen candidate's colours and bearing their photo, and a bell rings as the marble lands. The system has been used for decades and is valued for its simplicity in a country where many voters have limited literacy. Politics are shaped by several parties, and campaigning is lively; this guide deliberately takes no side.

The Gambia in the world

ECOWAS — member of the Economic Community of West African States; ECOWAS played a decisive role in the 2017 transition.
African Union — Banjul is home to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights is often called the "Banjul Charter".
Commonwealth — a member again since 2018.
United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation — The Gambia brought a genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice in 2019 over the treatment of the Rohingya.
Senegal — the closest relationship of all, since Senegal surrounds The Gambia on three sides; see the geography guide.

For the wider story of the country, from the empires of the Sahel to colonial Bathurst, see our history guide.

Frequently asked questions

What type of government does The Gambia have?

The Gambia is a presidential republic. The President is head of state and head of government, and laws are passed by a single-chamber National Assembly.

Who is the President of The Gambia?

Adama Barrow has been President since January 2017. He won the December 2016 election and was re-elected in December 2021. Check current news for the latest developments.

When did The Gambia become independent?

The Gambia became independent from Britain on 18 February 1965 and became a republic on 24 April 1970.

How many presidents has The Gambia had?

Three: Sir Dawda Jawara (1970 to 1994), Yahya Jammeh (1994 to 2017) and Adama Barrow (since 2017).

Why does The Gambia vote with marbles?

Voters drop a marble into a drum marked with their chosen candidate's colours and photo. The method is simple, hard to tamper with and easy to use for voters with limited literacy.

What happened to the 2020 draft constitution?

The National Assembly did not pass the bill needed to put the 2020 draft to a referendum, so the 1997 Constitution remains in force. Reform efforts have continued since.

Is The Gambia in the Commonwealth?

Yes. The Gambia left the Commonwealth in 2013 under Yahya Jammeh and rejoined in 2018.