At stake in this election:

• 48 seats in the National Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Yahya A. J. J JAMMEH *
• Head of Government: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH
• Assembly: Gambia, The has a unicameral National Assembly with 53 seats.

* The president is both the chief of state and head of government.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the National Assembly, 48 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 5 members are appointed by the president to serve 5-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC)
  • Leader: Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH
  • Seats won in this election: 42
  • Seats won in last election: 45
• Party: United Democratic Party (UDP)**
  • Leader: Ousainou A. N. M. DARBOE
  • Seats won in this election: 4
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD)***
  • Leader: Halifa SALLAH
  • Seats won in this election: 1
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• Party: National Reconciliation Party (NRP)
  • Leader: Hamat N. K. BAH
  • Seats won in this election: 0
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• Party: Independent Candidates
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this election: 1
  • Seats won in last election: 0

** UDP boycotted the last election.
*** The National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) is an opposition coalition consisting of the National Democratic Action Movement (NDAM) and the People's Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS). Initially, the National Reconciliation Party (NRP), the United Democratic Party (UDP), and the People's Progressive Party (PPP) were also part of the NADD, but later decided to leave the alliance.
In the last election, PDOIS won 2 seats.

Last Legislative election:

• Elections to the National Assembly were last held on January 17, 2002.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 1,536,424 (2007)
• Registered Voters: 628,160 (January 2007 - Note: This figure indicates registered voters only in the 43 contested constituencies. Total electorate at the country level, including the five unopposed constituencies, is 670,336.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 775,104 (2006)

·         Is The Gambia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (29 July 1980)

·         Has The Gambia ratified CEDAW: Yes (16 April 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 5 (following the 2007 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 175 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is The Gambia a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has The Gambia ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (6 July 2015)

·         Population with a disability: 230,463 (est.)