Gambia Participates Launches AI-Powered Marble Elections App to Enhance Electoral Transparency

By Makutu Manneh

Gambia Participates has launched an upgraded version of its Marble Elections App, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to improve access to electoral information, enhance transparency, and strengthen public confidence in The Gambia’s electoral process.

The updated platform was unveiled on Friday, November 6, 2026, at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre, in the presence of electoral stakeholders, civil society representatives, and other participants.

Developed by Gambia Participates, a civil society organization, Marble is described as The Gambia’s first digital election information and live-results platform, designed to provide citizens with timely and reliable electoral updates.

Speaking at the launch, Marr Nyang, Executive Coordinator of Gambia Participates, traced the origins of the platform to the challenges Gambians encountered while trying to access election results during the 2016 presidential election.

Mr. Nyang recalled that electricity disruptions during the counting and announcement of results created uncertainty and contributed to the circulation of conflicting figures, forcing many citizens to rely on social media for information.

The situation was further complicated by disruptions to internet services, which restricted access to information at a critical stage of the electoral process.

According to Mr. Nyang, those experiences exposed serious weaknesses in the country’s electoral information systems and raised questions about why citizens continued to struggle to obtain basic election information in an increasingly digital world.

He said the challenges inspired Gambia Participates to develop Marble, which was first introduced during the 2018 mayoral elections.

Initially designed to provide information on local government elections, the platform was subsequently expanded ahead of the 2021 presidential election.

During that election, Gambia Participates collaborated with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to make official election results available through the application.

Mr. Nyang said rapid technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence, had created new opportunities to improve the platform’s capabilities and accessibility.

“So fast forward to now, a lot of advancement has been experienced in the digital space, and an example of those digital advancements is AI, and I don’t think Marble should be left behind,” he said.

He explained that the latest upgrade incorporates AI-powered features and provides access to historical electoral information dating back to 1996, allowing users to explore election-related data across different electoral cycles.

Mr. Nyang emphasized that technological innovation should play an increasingly important role in democratic governance, particularly in improving transparency, accountability and citizens’ access to public information.

He called for an enabling environment in which emerging technologies could be developed and adopted without unnecessary institutional or legal restrictions.

According to him, The Gambia currently has no significant legal or institutional barriers preventing the integration of innovative digital solutions into electoral processes.

He expressed optimism that greater use of technology could help strengthen electoral integrity, improve access to credible information and reinforce public confidence in election outcomes.

Mr. Nyang also highlighted the organization’s growing technical capacity, revealing that the upgraded application was developed entirely by its internal team.

“This time around, we are not only adopting technology in our civil work. Every single aspect of Marble you experience here today is 100 percent built internally by Gambia Participates,” he said.

The launch marks another step in Gambia Participates’ efforts to use digital innovation to promote electoral transparency, public accountability and meaningful citizen participation.

Established in 2016 as a youth-led civic movement, the organization has undertaken initiatives in civic education, public budget monitoring and technology-driven governance reforms.

With the integration of artificial intelligence and historical election data, Gambia Participates hopes Marble will provide citizens with a more accessible source of electoral information ahead of the December 5 presidential election, while contributing to greater transparency and public trust in The Gambia’s democratic process.