The Gambia Presidential election 2026 — Live Results & Map
Live results will appear here on this page once counting begins on election day. This page updates automatically as official figures are released.
In office and the alliances
In office now
Adama Barrow has been president since January 2017 and won a second term in December 2021. He took office as the candidate of a coalition built around the United Democratic Party, broke with it, and founded the National People’s Party, which has governed since. At the National Assembly election of 9 April 2022 the NPP won 18 of the 53 elected seats, ahead of the UDP on 15, the NRP on 4, PDOIS and the APRC on 2 each, and 12 independents, so it governs with allies rather than on its own numbers. The NPP has endorsed Barrow as its candidate for a third term, which he confirmed himself; his alliance stood at seven parties until the Gambia Democratic Congress, whose leader Mama Kandeh finished third in 2021, signed a memorandum of understanding with the NPP at State House at the end of July 2026, taking it to eight.
Alliances and endorsements
Both sides have said where they stand. At the State House signing with the GDC, President Barrow said that “if number one and three join forces, what is left? The game is over”, and appealed to Ousainou Darboe to bring the UDP in as well. On the other side, a Coalition Mediation Committee set up on 18 April 2026 spent the spring trying to produce a single opposition candidate; the UDP withdrew from those talks and other parties left before the end. The parties that stayed chose Talib Ahmed Bensouda, leader of UNITE and mayor of Kanifing, as their flagbearer on 8 August 2026, and on 20 August signed an alliance agreement bringing eight parties and movements together as Coalition 2026; Bensouda said the agreement meant “game over for President Adama Barrow” and that the door stayed open to the parties that had walked out. Darboe, the UDP’s leader and its own flagbearer, says his party is open to a coalition “built on principles” but will not join “a coalition of convenience”, the term he uses for the 2016 alliance that made Barrow president. So the opposition goes into nomination split between the UDP and Coalition 2026, and the governing alliance has grown rather than shrunk.
About this election
At a glance
The Gambia is scheduled to hold a presidential election on 5 December 2026, choosing a head of state for a five-year term in West Africa's smallest mainland country. The vote comes a decade after the dramatic end of Yahya Jammeh's 22-year authoritarian rule, when Jammeh lost the 2016 election to a coalition candidate, Adama Barrow, and was eventually forced into exile in 2017 by regional military pressure. Barrow has governed since, and the 2026 election is dominated by the contested question of whether he can or should seek a third term, and by the unfinished business of constitutional reform.
The rules of the game
The President of the Gambia is elected by a single-round, first-past-the-post system: the candidate with the most votes wins outright, with no run-off, for a five-year term. The Gambia is famous for its unique method of voting: rather than marking paper ballots, voters drop a marble into a coloured drum assigned to each candidate, a system devised to accommodate low literacy and prized for its simplicity and low rate of spoiled votes. The election is administered by the Independent Electoral Commission. A draft constitution that would have introduced a two-term presidential limit failed to pass parliament in 2020, leaving term limits — and Barrow's eligibility — a live and disputed issue.
The party landscape
Gambian politics has been reshaped since 2016. President Barrow, who came to power as the candidate of a broad opposition coalition built around the United Democratic Party (UDP), broke with the UDP and formed his own National People's Party (NPP), which now governs. His former ally and mentor, veteran opposition leader Ousainou Darboe, leads the UDP in opposition. Other forces include Mama Kandeh's Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), the long-standing PDOIS of Halifa Sallah, and — controversially — Jammeh's former ruling APRC, parts of which have at times aligned with Barrow. The politics of accountability for the Jammeh era, examined by a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, remains a charged backdrop.
The last election (2021)
In December 2021 Adama Barrow won a second term comfortably in the first all-civilian-run presidential election since Jammeh's fall, defeating his former ally Darboe.
| Candidate (2021) | Vote % |
| Adama Barrow (NPP) | 53.23 |
| Ousainou Darboe (UDP) | 27.72 |
| Mama Kandeh (GDC) | 12.32 |
| Halifa Sallah (PDOIS) | 3.77 |
Turnout was high, at about 89.34%. Essa Faal (independent) and one other candidate shared the remaining votes; international observers judged the election credible.
What to watch in 2026
The defining questions are whether President Barrow runs for and wins a third term — and how the courts and the opposition treat the term-limit dispute — whether the fragmented opposition can unite behind a single challenger as it did in 2016, and how the unresolved demands for justice over Jammeh-era abuses shape the campaign. The economy, youth unemployment and emigration (the Gambia is a major source of irregular migration to Europe), and constitutional reform are leading issues.
Geography of the vote
The Gambia's politics has both ethnic and regional dimensions, with support bases varying among the Mandinka, Fula, Wolof and other communities and between the urban coastal area around the capital, Banjul, and the rural interior strung along the Gambia River. The greater Banjul and Kanifing urban area concentrates much of the electorate. ElectioMap will map the result across the country's regions as official figures are released.
How ElectioMap will cover it
This page will carry the national result and a regional map as the Independent Electoral Commission publishes its count on 5 December 2026. There is no machine-readable feed from the commission, so the figures are entered here from its own published count rather than updating by themselves.
Frequently asked questions
When is the 2026 Gambian presidential election?
It is scheduled for 5 December 2026, to elect a president for a five-year term. The Gambia uses a single-round, first-past-the-post system, so the candidate with the most votes wins outright.
Why does The Gambia vote with marbles?
Instead of paper ballots, Gambian voters drop a marble into a coloured drum assigned to each candidate. The method, devised to accommodate low literacy, produces almost no spoiled votes and is unique in the world.
Can President Barrow run for a third term?
This is the central dispute. A draft constitution that would have introduced a two-term limit failed in parliament in 2020, so Adama Barrow's eligibility for a third term is contested by the opposition, led by his former ally Ousainou Darboe (UDP).
What happened in 2021?
Adama Barrow (NPP) won a second term with 53.23%, ahead of Ousainou Darboe (UDP) on 27.72% and Mama Kandeh (GDC) on 12.32%, on a high turnout of about 89%. International observers judged the vote credible.
When will results be available?
Counting is quick under the marble system, and a result is usually known within a day or two. National figures and a regional map appear on this page as the Independent Electoral Commission publishes them; the commission issues no machine-readable feed, so the numbers are entered from its own published count.
Compiled and reviewed from official results by ElectioMap. See our data methodology.
Understanding this election
- What an Election-Night Data Feed Looks Like — the feeds behind a live results page
- How We Check an Election Figure — the checks every number passes before publication
- How Live Election Data Is Collected and Verified — from ballot box to published figure