Survey Shows Majority of Gambians Fear President Barrow’s Third-Term Bid Could Weaken Democracy

Dr. Mustapha Jobarteh, Senior Consultant at CepRass

By Makutu Manneh 

A new survey by the Center for Policy, Research and Strategic Studies (CepRass) suggests that a majority of Gambians are concerned about the implications of President Adama Barrow seeking a third term in office.

According to the survey, 58 percent of respondents believe that a third-term bid would weaken the country’s democratic institutions. Seventeen percent said it would strengthen democracy, 15 percent said it would have no impact, and the remainder were undecided.

Dr. Mustapha Jobarteh, a senior consultant at CepRass, discussed the findings in an interview with Kerr Fatou on Thursday. He noted that the survey also revealed mixed levels of trust in the president. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they did not trust him to act in the nation’s best interest, 26 percent said they trusted him “a little,” and 16 percent said they trusted him “a lot.”

“So all of these put together it means that trust is not very strong, even though there is no complete collapse of trust in the president but it is not very grounded,” he said. 

He noted that the survey reflected the perspectives of active voters, with 82 percent of participants holding voter registration cards and 92 percent indicating a willingness to vote in the presidential election scheduled for December 5, 2026.

Dr. Jobarteh stressed the importance of taking the findings seriously. “So no one should take these lightly and we have been very impassioned in our analysis. Our files are there, anyone can look at them,” he added.