About this election
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This page will display the live national result and a regional map as counting proceeds on 5 December 2026. Figures are sourced from the Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission, which administers and certifies the vote.
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.
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.
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).
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.
Counting is quick under the marble system, and a result is usually known within a day or two. Live national figures and a regional map will appear on this page as counting begins, sourced from the Independent Electoral Commission.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.