SUMMARY
The Government of Gambia was established after the country gained its independence from Great Britain in February 1965. The country remained a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elisabeth II as titular head of state, until 1970 when The Gambia became a presidential republic through a referendum and Dawda Jawara of the People’s Progressive Party was elected the country’s first president. Jawara had previously been The Gambia’s prime minister during the negotiations with the British regarding independence and self-rule in 1962-1970.
Jawara and his People’s Progressive Party remained in power until 1994, winning a number of elections that generally were regarded as free and fair. During Jawara’s rule, The Gambia was considered one of few well-functioning parliamentary democracies in Africa. However, Jawara was ousted in a bloodless coup in July 1994. A message declaring the successful coup d’état as well as the upheaval of the Gambian constitution was broadcasted on the radio, and coup leader Yahya Jammeh took over as head of state. He subsequently ruled the country together with a council called the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council consisting of other military officers. The political opposition was heavily suppressed and political activities other than those of the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction party were banned for several years. Jammeh was elected president in 1996 and was able to retain that position through several, sometimes heavily criticized, elections for more than two decades. His administration however, grew increasingly more authoritative and was challenged a number of times through different coup attempts in the 2000’s.
In preparation for the elections in December 2016, the opposition in The Gambia was able to come together and endorse a single presidential candidate named Adama Barrow of the United Democratic Party. Barrow gained the most votes but President Jammeh refused to step down and challenged the election results. Not until ECOWAS troops crossed the border into The Gambia, Jammeh relented and left his position. In late January 2017, Adama Barrow took office, and his stated focus was to revive the country’s economy and to carry out democratic reforms.
During the first decade and a half after independence, The Gambia did not have a national army. An attempted coup in 1981 prompted the government to draw closer to neighboring Senegal through a security cooperation called the Senegambia Confederation, that lasted from 1981 to 1989. The agreement for this cooperation included that The Gambia should form a military, and the United Kingdom assisted in the build-up and training of the Gambia Armed Forces. The forces has since its initiation been kept small and has repeatedly struggled with disgruntlement and mutinies among its ranks.
Between 1981 until 1989, Senegal was one of the Gambian government’s most important backers. During the coup attempt in 1981, it was Senegal that managed to keep Jawara in power by sending some 2700 troops to his rescue. Furthermore, and as mentioned above, the two countries subsequently went on to form the Senegambia Confederation, which lasted until 1989 when the cooperation broke down over a dispute concerning the leadership of the confederation. The Gambian government has also benefited from long-time diplomatic relationships with both Taiwan and Turkey. Both countries have supported the Government of Gambia with material and training for its armed forces.
