Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia on 25 January 2007. Forty-eight members of the National Assembly were elected, with another five being appointed by the President.[1] The result was a victory for the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), which won 42 of the 48 seats.
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48 of the 53 seats of the National Assembly 27 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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After the elections, President Yahya Jammeh said that "constituencies that voted the opposition should not expect my government's development projects. I want to teach people that opposition in Africa does not pay." He expressed satisfaction with the results and said that "voters have thrown out the two empty barrels from the National Assembly"; this was believed to be a reference to the defeat of two prominent opposition politicians, Halifa Sallah and Hamat Bah. Salleh blamed the opposition's poor performance on a split in its ranks and said that he intended to retire from politics.[2]
Campaign
editA total of 103 candidates were approved by the Independent Electoral Commission. The ruling APRC was the only party to contest all 48 seats,[3] and ran unopposed in five constituencies.[4]
Results
edit| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction | 157,392 | 59.74 | 42 | –3 | |
| United Democratic Party | 57,545 | 21.84 | 4 | New | |
| National Reconciliation Party | 15,783 | 5.99 | 0 | –1 | |
| National Alliance for Democracy and Development | 13,990 | 5.31 | 1 | –1 | |
| Independents | 18,751 | 7.12 | 1 | +1 | |
| Appointed members | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 263,461 | 100.00 | 53 | +4 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 628,160 | – | |||
| Source: Psephos | |||||
References
edit- ^ "Gambia's ruling party wins majority", Al Jazeera, January 26, 2007.
- ^ "Gambian President laughs at opponents", afrol News, January 29, 2007.
- ^ Q&A: Gambian legislative elections, BBC News, January 25, 2007.
- ^ Republic of the Gambia Psephos
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