National Assembly of the Gambia

National Assembly of the Gambia
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Mariam Jack-Denton (United Democratic) Since 11 April 2017
Deputy Speaker	Momodou L. K. Sanneh (United Democratic) Since 11 April 2017
Majority Leader	Kebba K. Barrow (United Democratic) Since 11 April 2017
Minority Leader	Samba Jallow (National Reconciliation) Since 19 April 2012
Structure
Seats	58
Political groups	Government (43)      UDP (31)      Appointed members (5)      NRP (5)      PPP (2) Opposition (15)      APRC (5)      GDC (5)      PDOIS (4)      Independent (1)
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post with 5 appointed by the President
Last election	6 April 2017
Meeting place
Parliament Buildings, Banjul
Website
The Gambian National Assembly

Government (43)

Opposition (15)

The National Assembly of the Gambia is the unicameral legislature of the Gambia. The authorisation for the National Assembly lies in Chapter VII of the Constitution of the Gambia. It is composed of 53 members directly elected through first past the post, and a further five members appointed by the President.

The National Assembly is unicameral and consists of 58 members who serve a five-year term. 53 members are directly elected while the remaining five are appointed by the President. Members are elected in single-member constituencies using the simple majority, or First-past-the-post system.

Legislative representation based on universal adult suffrage in the Gambia began in May 1962, when elections were held for a 32-seat House of Representatives. These elections were won by the People's Progressive Party (PPP), which was led by Dawda Jawara. After independence in 1965, the PPP continued to dominate the House of Representatives by winning a series of free, democratic elections in 1966, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, and 1992. While opposition parties were continuously present in the House, they were never able to successfully wrest power from the PPP. Jawara's government was overthrown in a July 1994 military coup led by Yahya Jammeh. The constitution and all elected institutions, including the House of Representatives, were dissolved. After the coup, political party activities were banned. The ban was lifted in August 1996 following the approval of a new constitution, but three Jawara-era parties – the PPP, Gambian People's Party (GPP), and the National Convention Party (NCP) remained proscribed.