REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA

Official name: Republic of the Gambia Location: West Africa International organisations: The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, The African Union, The Commonwealth of Nations, The Non-Aligned Movement, The Organisation of Islamic Conference, The United Nations, The World Trade Organisation Borders: Senegal Coastline: North Atlantic Ocean Land area: 11,300 Km2

Population: 1,500,000
Ethnicity: The main ethnic groups in the Gambia are the Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola 10% and Serahuli 9%. There is a small European minority.
Languages: English is the official language. Mandinka, Wolof and Fula are the main African languages spoken.
Religion: More than 90% of the population are Sunni Moslems. Most of the remainder are Christians of various denominations.
Form of government: Presidential democratic republic. The Gambia consists of five divisions and the capital city.
Capital: Banjul
Constitution: The Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia came into effect on 24 April 1970. It was suspended in July 1994 and re-instated with some amendments in January 1997.
Head of state: The President, elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term.
Head of government: The President, who appoints the ministers.
Legislature: The Gambia has a unicameral legislature, the National Assembly, which has 53 member; 48 elected from single-member constituencies for five-year terms, and five appointed by the President.
Electoral authority: The Independent Electoral Commission administers national elections.
Freedom House 2005 rating: Political Rights 4, Civil Liberties 4

Political history

The Portuguese explored the area of the Gambia River in the 16th century. In 1588 Portugal sold trade rights in area to English merchants. The Gambia became part of the British coloby of Sierra Leone in 1821, although British control of the interior was not established until 1894, when a protectorate within the present boundaries was proclaimed. The Gambia was granted limited self-government in 1961, and full internal self-government in 1963. The Gambia became independt on February 18, 1965, and became a republic following a referendum in April 1970.

From before independence until 1994, The Gambia was dominated by Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, first as Prime Minister and later as President, and was one of Africa's few functioning democracies. But increasing economic difficulties led to unrest, and in 1981 an attempted coup was suppressed only with the help of Senegalese troops. In July 1994, the army seized power and the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) declared Lt Yahya Jammeh President. Under international pressure, Jammeh announced a transition plan for return to democratic government in 1996. Presidential and legislative elections were held in September 1996 and January 1997, but foreign observers described these elections as not free and fair. Jammeh's party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction, dominates the legislature. Fresh legislative elections were held in January 2002.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union website noted of these elections: "As the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) had announced its decision to boycott the elections, the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party ran unopposed in 33 out of 48 constituencies. UDP leader Ousainou Darboe announced the boycott, calling the polls "seriously flawed". He said the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) was allowing Gambians to vote in any area of choice in "an attempt by the IEC to aid the massive transfer of ruling party supporters to what are historically opposition strongholds". Local and international observers called the attention of the IEC to what they observed as under-age voting, saying that there had been too frequent cases of voters who were later found to be below 18, the minimum voting age. There were also complaints made by the opposition regarding failure to recognise their polling agents."