Gambia: Nationwide municipal elections set for April 12

Event

The campaign period for Gambia's municipal elections began on Wednesday, March 21, and will continue until Tuesday, April 10. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has certified 409 candidates who will compete for 120 seats across the country during the April 12 elections.

Multiple political rallies and demonstrations are anticipated during the remainder of the campaigning period, particularly in the capital city of Banjul. While such rallies are intended to be peaceful, clashes between opposing political groups and security personnel cannot be ruled out.

Context

Gambian authorities issued a ban on organizing public demonstrations and rallies on January 11, but removed the ban on January 29 for events that obtain official approval. The ban originally came after two clashes between suspected political supporters of President Adama Barrow (ruling United Democratic Party [UDP]) and former President Yahya Jammeh (opposition Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction [APRC]).

Tensions have been high in Gambia since the highly contested December 2016 elections. In January 2017, then-President Jammeh declared a three-month state of emergency, pushing thousands of Gambian residents to flee the country amid fears of violent unrest ahead of the presidential handover. Following weeks of political tensions across the country due to Jammeh's refusal to concede defeat after losing the December 2016 presidential election, he finally went into exile in Equatorial Guinea on January 21, 2017, after 22 years of being in power.

Advice

Those present in Gambia are advised to monitor the situation, avoid politically sensitive discussions in public, avoid any demonstrations due to the risk of violence, and follow the instructions of local and home authorities.