By Fatou Sillah
The National Assembly on Monday passed the amended Elections Bill, repealing the Elections Act (Cap 3:01) and enacting a new law aimed at aligning The Gambia’s electoral framework with best practices to ensure free and fair elections.
The bill was presented for its third reading by the Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science, and Technology, Prof. Pierre Gomez, on behalf of the Minister of Justice, Dawda A. Jallow.
The newly enacted law underscores the importance of full citizen participation in democratic processes. It introduces detailed procedures for the publication of final results by the chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission and sets out clear criteria for analyzing results during post-election or referendum declarations.
Significant financial changes were introduced under the bill. Registration fees for political parties have been doubled from D1 million to D2 million. Presidential nomination fees saw a substantial increase, rising from D10,000 to D1 million.
Nomination deposits for mayoral and chairperson candidates have been set at D100,000, while those for National Assembly candidates increased sharply from D5,000 to D150,000. Similarly, the nomination fee for councillor candidates rose from D3,000 to D10,000—a proposal that received a narrower margin of approval, with 18 Assembly members voting in favor and 15 opposed.
The amendments mark a significant shift in The Gambia’s electoral process, with the government citing the need to strengthen democratic integrity and governance.