Gambian presidential election, 1996

Presidential elections were held in the Gambia on 29 September 1996. The first since the 1994 military coup led by Yahya Jammeh, they were also the first elections to be held under the new constitution, and the first presidential elections held separately from parliamentary elections. Voter turnout was exceptionally high, with 88% of the 446,541 registered voters voting.

Despite originally stating that he did not intend to run, Jammeh entered the race shortly before the elections. He emerged victorious with 55.8% of the vote, winning the most votes in every district except Mansa Konko (where UDP candidate Ousainou Darboe was the most voted-for).

The elections were criticised as unfair due to government crackdowns on journalists and opposition leaders at the time.^[1][2]

Results

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Yahya Jammeh	Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction	220,011	55.77
Ousainou Darboe	United Democratic Party	141,387	35.84
Hamat Bah	National Reconciliation Party	21,759	5.52
Sidia Jatta	People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism	11,337	2.87
Invalid/blank votes		43	–
Total		394,537	100
Registered voters/turnout		446,541	88.35
Source: African Elections database

The number of invalid votes was extremely low due to the country's unique voting system of putting marbles into drums, which meant that almost no votes were rejected.

References

1. Wright, Donald (2010). The World and a Very Small Place in Africa: A History of Globalization in Niumi, The Gambia (third ed.). Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-7656-2483-3.
2. French, Howard W. (September 28, 1996). "Military Ruler in Gambia Defeats Rivals in Election". The New York Times.