Voters in The Gambia are casting their ballots in the first election since the departure of long-time leader Yahya Jammeh, with multiple parties poised to enter parliament after 22 years of effective one-party rule.

More than 880,000 Gambians are eligible to vote, with the polling stations open until 17:00 GMT on Thursdy.

Dozens queued early in the morning at roadside polling stations to be among the first to cast their ballots.



"Things are equal, that's why you have a lot of participants," Ousman Manneh, 34, an assistant returning officer at a polling station in Bakau, a town not far from The Gambia's capital, Banjul, told the AFP news agency.

The first results are expected during the evening and a full set on Friday morning.

READ MORE: Change is coming fast in The Gambia - and it's intoxicating

There are 53 seats up for grabs in The Gambia's National Assembly, five more than in 2012, according to the Independent Electoral Commission.

Five extra places are to be appointed by President Adama Barrow to give a total of 58 seats in the legislative chamber, which was long derided as a rubberstamp for Jammeh's executive orders.

"Never has there been so many people wanting a seat in parliament," Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, reporting from Banjul, said.

"Most are young, first-time independent candidates."

Several opposition parties united to form a coalition in December to oust Jammeh from power and deliver Barrow to victory as the new president.



But internal tensions caused that coalition to break apart, meaning nine parties will run in Thursday's legislative polls including Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) and the strongest traditional opposition force, the United Democratic Party (UDP).

READ MORE: 'It's a great time to be Gambian'

They face a significant threat from the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), a youth-led party which did not join the governing coalition, and whose leader Mama Kandeh came third in the presidential poll.

The African Union, regional ECOWAS bloc and the European Union have all sent observers to monitor voters casting their ballots with The Gambia's unique system, where marbles are dropped into coloured metal barrels representing different candidates.

Barrow, who won December's presidential race, was a former UDP treasurer who resigned to run as the candidate of an unprecedented opposition coalition.

After a drawn-out crisis caused by Jammeh's initial refusal to step down, mediation efforts by west African leaders and the threat of military intervention eventually delivered the country's first ever democratic transition in January.

Barrow's cabinet is made up of the heads of seven different political parties, all of which will field candidates in Thursday's election.</s>On Thursday, 238 candidates from nine political parties will vie for the 53 parliament seats up for election.

The Gambia will hold its first election on Thursday since the downfall of longtime leader Yahya Jammeh.

Expectations are high that new lawmakers will overhaul the national assembly once derided as a mere rubberstamp by many in the country.

Gambians have long complained that under Jammeh, who ruled for 22 years, laws were often made by executive decree and buttressed by legislation much later on, if at all.

Campaigning ended on Tuesday for the 238 registered candidates representing nine different political parties who are vying for the 53 seats up for election.

READ MORE: The Gambia's missing sons and daughters

Five seats are to be appointed by President Adama Barrow, totalling 58 spots in the small west African nation's parliament.

Kemo Bojang, a first-time voter speaking to Al Jazeera by phone, said there is a lot of excitement surrounding this year's election.

"This is a breakthrough for us, voting for someone who will actually represent us," Bojang, 20, who resides in the western town of Bakau, said.

He added he has witnessed many within his community actively engaged in the political process, something he said many feared to do while Jammeh was in power.

"I've seen people who were not into politics before engaged in political discussion this time around," Bojang said. "Now there is not fear and the feeling that no one can stop you from speaking your mind."

The landscape of Gambian poltics have shifted dramatically since the last legislative elections in 2012, when Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) took 43 seats, with a large number of them uncontested because of an opposition boycott.

Bojang said he believed the number of parties participating "goes to show how democratic this year will be".

Among the parties running this year, the United Democratic Party (UDP) is fielding the most candidates after long being seen as the strongest opposition force in The Gambia.

Alagie Darboe, deputy administrative secretary of the UDP who is standing for a seat in The Gambia's West Coast Region, said the party was aiming to win in 44 constituencies. 

 

 "The support we are getting from the electorate during the campaign is a clear indication that we are going to win," he told AFP news agency.

Barrow, who won December's presidential race, was a former UDP treasurer who resigned to run as the candidate of an unprecedented opposition coalition.

After a drawn-out crisis caused by Jammeh's initial refusal to step down, mediation efforts by west African leaders and the threat of military intervention eventually delivered the country's first ever democratic transition in January.

Barrow's cabinet is made up of the heads of seven different political parties, all of which will field candidates in Thursday's election.

The president had initially said the opposition coalition was a "family" and would run again as a group in the legislative poll, but internal tensions broke apart the agreement.

As a result, parties whose leaders govern together as ministers will be pitted against each other at the ballot box, stoking tensions that some close to the government say could play into the hands of the APRC.

Yankuba Colley, the APRC's campaign chief, said the party knew mistakes were made during the presidential election, but added his candidates were working hard to show it was still a vital force. 

 

 "We are optimistic that we are going to defeat our opponents in the 29 constituencies [where] we fielded candidates," he said.

READ MORE: The Gambia's journalists find new freedom of expression

But Bojang, like many Gambians he said, hope the APRC will fade away.

"The fact they are only running 22 candidates goes to show their popularity and how they won't be successful in this election," Bojang said.

And he hopes that after Thursday's election, the country will again unite as many Gambians did against Jammeh in December.

"I liked to see The Gambia more united than we are at the moment," he said.

"If we're able to continue that unity, I think it will go a long way in keeping our freedom and the democracy."</s>The Gambia's first legislative elections since the downfall of Yahya Jammeh are expected to inject democracy into a parliament which under authoritarian rule was derided as a rubberstamp assembly. In The Gambia 's largest city of Serekunda, it seems that almost everbody is on the move and the bustle never stops.

Start the conversation, or Read more at AllAfrica.com.</s>Turnout was reportedly low, but many Gambians still see Thursday's parliamentary poll as a positive step for democracy.

Gambians voted on Thursday in the first parliamentary elections since long-time leader Yahya Jammeh left power, electing lawmakers who could make or break a raft of reforms promised by the new president.

More than 880,000 Gambians were eligible to vote in the small West African country home to 1.8 million, with many relishing the chance to express their opinion after 22 years under Jammeh.

Voter turnout was low, however, according to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, reporting from the capital Banjul, said the poor showing may be because this election is one many Gambians are unfamiliar with.

"Over the last few decades under Yahya Jammeh, the parliament was effectively a one-party rule where Jammeh's APRC party was always voted into power, so a lot of Gambians weren't sure who and why they were voting," Haque said shortly after polls closed at 16GMT.

Baboucarr Kebbeh, who was part of the EU observation team in Kanifing municipality, said there wasn't many voters at his polling location.

"I was surprised that the voter turnout was actually very low," Kebbeh, 31, told Al Jazeera by phone. "I was expecting a high turnout because of the understanding of the need for a National Assembly."

Kebbeh added he thought the weak turnout could be caused by a lack of voter education, especially in a country where he said Gambians always knew the result before the election took place.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: Change is coming fast in The Gambia - and it's intoxicating

The landscape of Gambian politics has shifted dramatically since the last legislative elections in 2012, when Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) took 43 seats, with a large number of them uncontested because of an opposition boycott.

Only 29 of the 239 registered candidates running for parliament seats representing 53 constituencies were from APRC this year.

President Adama Barrow will appoint five additional seats to bring the total number of parliamentary members to 58.

Thursday's election is a key test for the seven former opposition parties that make up Barrow's current cabinet.

Those parties had united to form a coalition to oust Jammeh from power, but internal tensions meant they did not run together in the legislative elections, and Barrow's promised overhaul of every aspect of the Gambian state will depend on their willingness to cooperate in parliament and in the cabinet.

Halifa Sallah, who has served as the coalition spokesman and special adviser to Barrow, said The Gambia has come a long way.

"We need a National Assembly that can accompany transformation, a National Assembly capable of carrying legal and constitutional reforms," Sallah said.

"What I am seeing is openness of the democratic process. I do not believe parties will control the process anymore."

READ MORE: The Gambia's journalists find new freedom of expression

Sallah himself was running as a candidate in Serrekunda Central for the People's Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism.

Some Gambians had expressed anger that the coalition parties had not been able to present a united front, but President Barrow after casting his vote defended the coalition saying, "There is not [a cabinet] split, this is about democracy and this is the new Gambia."

Al Jazeera's Haque said despite the low turnout and concerns, Thursday's election is still an important day for the country.

"That fact that they have been able to organise free and fair elections since Yahya Jammeh left is still a success," Haque said.

Kebbeh, too, believes the election is a positive step for democracy.

"These kinds of elections have never happened. It shows the National Assembly will be truly balanced," he said. "It shows a smooth start to democracy."</s>The Gambia's longtime opposition won an absolute majority in parliamentary elections, easily defeating the party of ousted leader Yahya Jammeh, results announced Friday showed.

Official results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) showed the United Democratic Party (UDP) won 31 of the 53 available elected seats in the country's National Assembly.

"(I) hereby declare the final results as follows: UDP won 31 seats; APRC (Jammeh's party) won five seats," IEC chairman Alieu Momar Njie declared at the commission headquarters.

Five more seats are appointed by the president to give a total 58 seats in the chamber, giving the UDP a two-seat majority.

Turnout was low at 42 percent, Njie said, saying more civic education was needed to persuade people to come out and vote in legislative polls.

The UDP was one of seven parties who united to propel President Adama Barrow to power in December last year, but that coalition broke apart for the legislative election.

The party has long considered itself a government-in-waiting, and Barrow was UDP treasurer until resigning to become the flagbearer candidate for the coalition.

Their victory is likely to make it easier for Barrow to get a raft of promised reforms passed, with UDP leader Ousainou Darboe a personal friend and longtime ally of the president.

Lamin Dibba, a senior UDP official, said the vote put the party in a strong position to make major changes in The Gambia.

"It's increased our confidence and I think in the near future it will be very easy for us to form a government," he told AFP by phone.

"Our first priority will be to look at the constitution, he said. "We will also ensure that the national assembly will give the nation the power to operate rather than the president," referring to Jammeh's frequent use of executive orders to push through laws.

Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) meanwhile suffered a stunning reversal, going from 48 seats to just five overnight -- a result that revealed the deep anger felt by former supporters and critics alike at the actions of the regime.

An expected surge for the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), an upstart party which did not join the coalition, failed to materialise, with the youth-led movement gaining just five seats.

Smaller parties who joined the coalition took 11 more seats, and one independent candidate took a seat.

The Gambia's National Assembly was long derided for acting as a rubberstamp for Jammeh's decisions, but hopes are high for a revitalised chamber.</s>Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Polls closed on Thursday evening in The Gambia with voters expected to usher in a new generation of lawmakers to scrutinise a raft of reforms promised by President Adama Barrow, in the first election since longtime leader Yahya Jammeh left power.

Turnout was low when polling stations across the tiny west African nation closed at 5:00pm (1700 GMT), the vice-chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said, though hopes remain high for a revitalised parliament after years of rubberstamping Jammeh’s executive orders.

More than 880,000 Gambians were eligible to vote for the body’s 53 elected seats, with five more appointed by the president, and many relished the chance to express their opinion after 22 years of iron-fisted rule.

“The only way Gambians can consolidate our newfound democracy is for people to ensure they elect competent individuals that will represent them in parliament and help in making the government’s reform agenda a reality,” said Fatou Suwareh, who was waiting in line to vote on the outskirts of Banjul.

Manneh Sallah, vice-chairman of the electoral commission, speaking to AFP by phone after the polls closed, said “turnout is still going to be very low,” adding that although National Assembly elections generally have a poorer turnout he had been surprised by the scarcity of voters.

Thursday’s election is a key test for several former opposition parties that united to form a coalition to oust Jammeh from power and deliver flag bearer Adama Barrow to victory as the new president.

Internal tensions mean those parties are not running together in the legislative elections, and Barrow’s promised overhaul of every aspect of the Gambian state will depend on their willingness to cooperate in parliament and in cabinet.

Posing a threat is the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), a youth-led party which did not join the governing coalition and whose leader Mama Kandeh came third in last year’s presidential vote.

Some voters expressed anger that the coalition parties had not been able to present a united front.

“The coalition was my party but when things started falling apart with them, everyone has to go to their own party,” said Yaisa Jawara, who chose the GDC as a protest vote, at a roadside polling station near the capital Banjul.

Barrow attempted to shrug off accusations that his coalition was permanently damaged by infighting which at times has broken out into the open in Gambian media, saying after voting that there was “no split”.

Barrow was formerly a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP), a movement which has waited many years for the chance to take office.

The UDP’s activists were routinely imprisoned and abused by Jammeh’s security forces, and its leader Ousainou Darboe is seen in some quarters as a divisive figure with decades of political baggage in a country looking for a fresh start.

Ousman Addo a Gambian electoral observer for Anti-Corruption International, said allies of Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) were “staying away because they feel they have already los,”.

Meanwhile undecided voters “don’t know who to vote for, they have had a short time to get to know these parties,” he added, blaming a lack of civic education under Jammeh where the APRC party was promoted above all others.

There is no formal opinion polling in The Gambia, making it difficult to establish voting intentions, but the APRC was only able to muster candidates in just over half the country’s constituencies, meaning they cannot obtain the near-total majority achieved in past elections.

Despite this, Fabakary Tombong Jatta, the new leader of the APRC, said he was confident of their chances with Barrow apparently stumbling.

“Government came with a slogan ‘Gambia has decided’ but assessing their hundred days in office, it is full of failures in all domains,” he said.

The African Union, the regional bloc ECOWAS and the European Union all sent observers to monitor the votes cast under The Gambia’s unique system, where marbles are dropped into coloured metal barrels representing different candidates.

The marbles are then sifted into trays to be counted, though several observers and Gambian politicians told AFP this could be the last election to make use of the system, which is expensive to maintain.

West African troops remained on the ground to assure security three months after Jammeh’s departure, and will stay until Barrow is satisfied that reforms of the security service have removed rogue elements.

The post Gambia elects MPs for post-Jammeh era appeared first on The Independent Uganda:.

This post was syndicated from The Independent Uganda:. Click here to read the full text on the original website.

Also, Like us on facebook</s>United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Ousainou Darboe smiles at a polling station in Bakau on April 6, 2017 during legislative elections. Darboe won an absolute majority in the election. Photo: SEYLLOU / AFP

BANJUL, Gambia - The Gambia's longtime opposition UDP won an absolute majority in parliamentary elections, easily defeating the party of ousted leader Yahya Jammeh, results announced Friday showed.

"(I) hereby declare the final results as follows: UDP won 31 seats; APRC (Jammeh's party) won five seats," in the 58-chamber parliament, Independent Electoral Commission chairman Alieu Momar Njie declared at the commission headquarters.</s>Gambians head to the polls on Thursday for the first time since the departure of longtime leader Yahya Jammeh, with multiple parties poised to enter parliament after 22 years of effective one-party rule.

Several opposition parties united to form a coalition in December to oust Jammeh from power and deliver flagbearer Adama Barrow to victory as the new president.

But internal tensions caused that coalition to break apart, meaning nine parties will run in Thursday's legislative polls including Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) and the strongest traditional opposition force, the United Democratic Party (UDP).

They face a significant threat from the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), a youth-led party which did not join the governing coalition, and whose leader Mama Kandeh came third in the presidential poll.

More than 880,000 Gambians are eligible to vote, with the polls open from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm.

The first results are expected during the evening and a full set due by late morning on Friday.

There is no formal opinion polling in the tiny west African nation, making it difficult to establish voting intentions, but the scarcity of APRC rallies which once dominated every street during campaigning suggests voters are unlikely to give them the near-total majority of past elections.

There are 53 seats up for grabs in The Gambia's National Assembly, five more than in 2012, according to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Five extra places are appointed by the president to give a total of 58 seats in the legislative chamber, which was long derided as a rubber stamp for Jammeh's executive orders.

The African Union, regional ECOWAS bloc and the European Union have all sent observers to monitor voters casting their ballots with The Gambia's unique system, where marbles are dropped into coloured metal barrels representing different candidates.

Miroslav Poche, chief EU observer and a Czech MEP, told AFP that the IEC had showed its impartiality under great pressure by standing up to Jammeh when he lost the vote last year and filed legal action against the body.

"The IEC has proved itself during the December 2016 presidential elections," he said, but added that the marble drum system was a "big challenge" for his technical support team.

It is the first time the EU has sent a fully-fledged observer mission to The Gambia, and it has bankrolled the vote at a time when state coffers are almost empty.

West African troops remain on Gambian soil three months after Jammeh's departure, and will stay until Barrow is satisfied security service reforms have removed rogue elements from its ranks.

Experts say that while the result could go feasibly in any direction, the relative novelty of a truly democratic election might distract from the unified front required to carry out the comprehensive overhaul of the state promised by Barrow.

"Given Jammeh's stranglehold over Gambian politics for the past 22 years, the country's opposition parties are inexperienced to the democratic process and relatively weak institutionally," said Joseph Siegle, director of research at the US-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

"Once Jammeh was defeated and departed the country (under pressure from ECOWAS), the competing agendas and political aspirations of the respective political actors in the opposition were bound to emerge," he added.</s>The Gambia's longtime opposition won an absolute majority in parliamentary elections, easily defeating the party of ousted leader Yahya Jammeh, results announced Friday showed.

Official results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) showed the United Democratic Party (UDP) had won 31 of the 53 available elected seats in the country's National Assembly "(I) hereby declare the final results as follows: UDP won 31 seats; APRC (Jammeh's party) won five seats," IEC chairman Alieu Momar Njie declared at the commission headquarters.

Five more seats are appointed by the president to give a total 58 seats in the chamber, giving the UDP a two-seat majority.

Turnout was low at 42 percent, Njie said, saying more civic education was needed to convince people to come out and vote in legislative polls.

The UDP was one of seven parties who united to propel President Adama Barrow to power in December last year, but that coalition broke apart for the legislative election.

The party has long considered itself a government-in-waiting, and Barrow was UDP treasurer until resigning to become the flagbearer candidate for the coalition.

Their victory is likely to make it easier for Barrow to get a raft of promised reforms passed, with UDP leader Ousainou Darboe a personal friend and longtime ally of the president.

Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) meanwhile suffered a stunning reversal of fortune, going from 48 seats to just five overnight, and revealing the deep anger felt by former supporters and critics alike at the actions of the regime.

An expected surge for the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), an upstart party which did not join the coalition, failed to materialise, with the youth-led movement gaining just five seats.

Smaller parties who joined the coalition took 11 more seats, and one independent candidate took a seat.</s>Gambian President Adama Barrow’s United Democratic Party, UDP, has won Thursday’s parliamentary election, taking 31 seats in the 53-member parliament, the electoral commission announced Friday.

Former president Yahya Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) came second alongside Gambia Democratic Congress, a party formed by a former lawmaker in Jammeh’s regime.

The two parties took five seats each.

The election of a new parliament was seen as an important step towards establishing a democracy after more than two decades of Mr. Jammeh’s autocratic rule in the West African nation.

The poll – the country’s first election since Mr. Jammeh went into exile in January, saw 239 candidates from nine political parties competing for 48 seats in the national assembly.

Five additional seats will be appointed by Mr. Barrow, who took power on January 19.

It was hoped in the nation of 1.8 million people that the legislative election will provide Gambia with a functional national assembly that will help amend the wrongs committed during Jammeh’s regime.
Voters in the Gambia go to the polls for an election, the country's first legislative election since longtime President Yahya Jammeh resigned and left the country.