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> 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> 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> 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.

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Also, Like us on facebook </s> Counting has begun after Gambia elections with little indication of the eventual winner of the contest marked by an ongoing internet blackout in the small west African nation. By MARCO LONGARI (AFP)

Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Security forces deployed heavily in Banjul Friday as counting got under way after a tense election, with early results showing Gambian President Yahya Jammeh had lost ground in the capital, his traditional stronghold.

Counting was slow and there was still little indication of the eventual winner of an election marked by an ongoing internet blackout in the small west African nation.

However, opposition leader Adama Barrow scored a symbolic victory in the capital Banjul, highlighting the strong challenge posed to Jammeh, who is standing for a fifth term.

Barrow took nearly 50 percent of the vote in Banjul's three constituencies, while Jammeh had 43 percent. Third party candidate Mama Kandeh took 7.6 percent.

Nationwide, less than 15 percent of the ballots had been counted from the almost 890,000 registered voters.

Before dawn broke, military and police, some covering their faces, set up checkpoints every few hundred metres on the outskirts of the capital, while citizens were inside sleeping or watching the results come in.

Both Barrow and Jammeh said on Thursday they had won by a huge margin.

"Power belongs to the people. You cannot stop us and you cannot stop them," Barrow said.

Jammeh, who once said he would govern for a billion years if God willed it, predicted "the biggest landslide in the history of my elections."

The United States said turnout appeared to be high and that the vote took place in "generally peaceful conditions", while The Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission hailed "a very successful election."

The US State Department and Human Rights Watch voiced concern however over a blanket cut to internet and international phone calls, as well as claims of voter intimidation.

"The government's communications cutoff and threatened protest ban are only likely to increase tensions between the government and opposition groups," said Babatunde Olugboji from Human Rights Watch.

At his final campaign rally, Jammeh warned that protests over the election result would not be tolerated, saying The Gambia "does not allow" demonstrations.

Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said Thursday the shutdown was to stop the spread of "false information" over the results, and described it as a "security measure".

There was a brief resumption of service around 5:00am (0500 GMT), but diplomats believe the shutdown could last until Sunday.

The opposition has relied on messaging applications and texts to organise rallies and move around roadblocks set up in Banjul during the last week of campaigning.

The winner in the three-way race will serve a five-year term in the tiny former British colony with pristine beaches that occupies a narrow sliver of land surrounded by French-speaking Senegal.

Jammeh is running for a fifth term with his ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC).

He faces previously unknown businessman Barrow, chosen as the opposition flag bearer by a group of political parties who have joined forces for the first time and won unprecedented popular support.

Third candidate Kandeh is popular among The Gambia's Fula people and is a former ruling party MP running for the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC).

All three men are 51, born in 1965, the year The Gambia won independence from Britain.

If Barrow were to win -- a tall order both in terms of votes and the likelihood of Jammeh giving up power -- he would likely decide to serve a three-year term at the head of a transition reform government.

No professional international observers were on the ground for the vote, diplomats confirmed, but a small team of African Union experts monitored events along with Banjul-based US and European delegations already present in the country.

A Senegalese security source confirmed to AFP in Dakar that The Gambia had closed the borders on Thursday, a common occurrence during elections in west Africa.

Jammeh seized power in a 1994 coup and has survived multiple attempts to remove him from the presidency.

Some 60 percent of the population live in poverty in The Gambia, and a third survive on $1.25 (1.20 euro) or less a day, according to the UN. </s> Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh said on Friday he would not recognise the results of December 1 elections and called for fresh polls, a week after he conceded defeat.

"In the same way that I accepted the results faithfully believing that the Independent Electoral Commission was independent and honest and reliable, I hereby reject the results in totality," he said in a statement broadcast on state television.

"Let me repeat: I will not accept the results based on what has happened," he said, condemning "unacceptable errors" on the part of electoral authorities and calling for a new vote.

Jammeh pointed to an accounting error, identified by the IEC, which awarded victory to his opponent Adama Barrow but with a slimmer margin than initially announced.

Latest official figures gave Barrow 43.29 percent of the votes in the presidential election, while Jammeh took 39.64 percent. The turnout was at 59 percent.

Jammeh claimed "investigations" had revealed that numerous voters had not been able to cast their ballots.

"This is the most dubious election we ever had in the history of this country," he said.

"We will go back to the polls because I want to make sure every Gambian votes under an electoral commission that is impartial, independent, neutral and free from foreign influence," he said, adding that he would not tolerate any street protests over his decision.

The announcement upends the situation in the west African nation, where the population had been hoping for a peaceful democratic transition after Barrow's shock victory this month looked set to end Jammeh's 22 years in power.

On December 2, Jammeh made a magnanimous concession speech on television and promised -- to general shock and surprise -- a peaceful and swift handover of power to President-elect Barrow.

On Thursday, Barrow vowed to set up a South Africa-style truth commission and said that the country's chief of defence staff had called to pledge the military's backing.

But pressure to prosecute Jammeh and top figures in his administration, who have been accused of widespread human rights violations, is one of the key challenges facing the new government.

In an interview with French media December 3, Barrow ruled out a "witch hunt" and said that his predecessor would be able to "live in Gambia like any ordinary citizen".

Dozens of opposition activists who had been detained since April for holding protests were granted bail this week, with the lawyer noting they were members of the United Democratic Party (UDP), of which Barrow was the presidential candidate.

UDP founder and leader Ousainou Darboe, who was jailed in July for taking part in a protest, was freed on bail with 18 others on Monday, as part of their ongoing appeal against three-year sentences. </s> Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh faces the biggest threat to his 22-year rule Thursday as the country heads to the polls following two weeks of unprecedented rallies by an energised opposition.

Some 880,000 Gambians will be eligible to vote when more than 1,400 polling stations open at 0800 GMT in an election overshadowed by an internet blackout in a nation long accused by rights groups of suppressing freedom of expression.

The winner will serve a five-year term in The Gambia, a tiny former British colony in west Africa which occupies a narrow sliver of land surrounded by French-speaking Senegal.

Jammeh is running for a fifth term in office with his ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC).

He faces previously unknown businessman Adama Barrow, chosen as a flagbearer by seven Gambian political parties and an independent candidate who have joined forces for the first time to form a coalition with unprecedented support.

A third candidate, former ruling party MP Mama Kandeh, is also standing for the Gambian Democratic Congress (GDC).

At his final rally on Tuesday night, Jammeh said he was looking forward to ramping up development in a country that "will move faster than it has in 22 years," but he also warned that protests over Thursday's result would not be tolerated.

The Gambia's unique voting system, which sees citizens vote by dropping a marble into a coloured drum for their candidate, could not be rigged, he added, meaning "there is no reason for anybody to protest."

Rights group Amnesty International urged the authorities to ensure that the election and post-electoral period "are held in a climate that is free from violence and which fully respects the right of all people to freely express their views."

Internet was down from around 8.15 pm (2015 GMT) on the eve of the vote, an AFP journalist said, following warnings of an election day blackout from the US embassy.

Popular private voice and messaging apps such as Whatsapp, Skype and Viber are unreachable without a Virtual Private Network (VPN), software many Gambians use to work around the problem.

The opposition relies on messaging applications and texts to organise mobile rallies that have seen roads blocked repeatedly over the last week around Banjul as demonstrations outgrow planned venues.

"People have shown us tremendous support. With that support we are 100 percent plus that we are going to win and with a big margin," Barrow told AFP on Tuesday, the final day of campaigning.

Barrow was chosen after several leaders with the opposition United Democratic Party (UDC) were jailed in July for holding peaceful protests, one of which was organised to protest the death in custody of a party member.

If Barrow were to win -- a tall order both in terms of votes and the likelihood of Jammeh giving up power -- he would likely serve a three-year term at the head of a transition reform government.

There will be no professional international observers present, diplomats confirmed to AFP Wednesday, but a small team of African Union experts will monitor events along with Banjul-based US and European delegations already present in the country.

Jammeh seized power in a 1994 coup and has targeted opponents and several of his own ministers in recent years, while surviving multiple attempts to remove him from power.

In the months prior to the vote, a former minister, an MP who formerly belonged to the ruling party and two journalists with the state broadcaster have been detained.

Significant progress has been made in the last 20 years in improving literacy and child mortality rates, and the president has in the last year banned child marriage and female genital mutilation.

But 60 percent of the population live in poverty, and a third survive on $1.25 (1.20 euro) or less a day, according to the UN.

Gambians make up the largest group per capita of migrants arriving in Italy after making the perilous crossing by sea from north Africa, figures from the International Organization for Migration show. </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> BANJUL, Gambia – Gambia’s president of 22 years acknowledged his election defeat on state television Friday night, vowing to step down hours after news of the results prompted thousands to celebrate in the streets in an unprecedented display of disdain for his rule.

With cameras rolling, Yahya Jammeh called the winner, opposition coalition leader Adama Barrow, on a mobile phone to praise the election and vow not to contest the result.

“Allah is telling me my time is up and I hand over graciously with gratitude toward the Gambian people and gratitude toward you,” Jammeh said.

Jammeh, a man long accused of heading a government that tortures opponents and silences all dissent, was jovial on the call, promising to help Barrow through the transition period before retiring to his home village to begin a new life as a farmer.

It was a stunning turn of events in a country where critics have long alleged votes are rigged. Just five years ago, Jammeh said he could stay in power for a billion years.

According to the electoral commission’s tally, Barrow received 45 percent of Thursday’s vote compared to Jammeh’s 36 percent.

Many Gambians stayed up all night Thursday listening to the radio and tallying results as they were read out constituency by constituency.

Once the results were announced on Friday, some tore down posters of Jammeh as the military stood by. Men in pickup trucks rode through the streets of Banjul screaming “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”

For the tens of thousands watching abroad from political exile, it was a day they thought might never come.

Speaking by phone from Washington, Gambian activist Pasamba Jow said the election was a “great victory” for the country and the entire African continent, though he anticipated a “difficult task of rebuilding our country and healing our nation.”

Eight opposition parties united behind Barrow, a former businessman, and the campaign period featured large opposition rallies.

Nevertheless, Jammeh had projected confidence, saying his victory was all but assured by God and predicting “the biggest landslide in the history of the country” after he voted.

“We are happy to be free,” said Omar Amadou Jallow, an opposition leader for the People’s Progressive Party, which joined the coalition that backed Barrow. “We are able to free the Gambian people from the clutches of dictatorship, and we are now going to make sure Gambia becomes a bastion of peace and coalition. Our foundation will be based on national reconciliation.”

Jammeh came to power in a coup in 1994 and then swept elections in 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011 after a 2002 constitutional amendment removed presidential term limits. Critics say those earlier elections were not free and fair.

All internet and international phone service was cut on election day in what Jammeh’s government said was a bid to thwart unrest.

Jammeh’s ouster demonstrates that even Africa’s most entrenched leaders can be brought down if opposition politicians overcome their divisions, said Jeffrey Smith, a human rights activist and founding director of Vanguard Africa, a U.S.-based group that worked with Gambia’s opposition coalition.

“This is going to have resonance way beyond the tiny borders of Gambia,” Smith said, describing the result as “a momentous occasion for the region writ large.”

Associated Press photographer Jerome Delay in Banjul and AP writers Abdoulie John in Dakar, Senegal, and Robbie Corey-Boulet in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, contributed.
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.