West Africa

Why Gambians won’t stop voting with marbles

Instead, voters will be directed to a set of drums painted in the party colors of the various candidates upon arrival at a polling location and after their ID has been checked.

The majority of Gambians I’ve met are pretty proud of their one-of-a-kind voting method.

Ballot papers will not be utilized when voters go to the polls on Saturday, December 4 to elect a president.

Instead, voters will be directed to a set of drums painted in the party colors of the various candidates upon arrival at a polling location and after their ID has been checked.

Each drum has a pipe protruding from the top into which the voter will insert a marble handed delivered by an election officer.

When the polls shut, the marbles from each barrel are counted and tallied in the same way as ballot papers are counted and tallied.

Because of The Gambia’s high illiteracy rate, this method of voting was established following independence in 1965.

Since Yayha Jammeh reluctantly stepped down after losing presidential elections in 2016, a slew of reforms have been implemented.

Officials set up marbles on a board which will be used to count votes ahead of parliamentary elections on 4 April 2017 in Serekunda, GambiaBoards like these are used to count the marbles. GETTY IMAGES

A nightmare catastrophe was averted.

Some election officials privately hoped that one of them would be ditching marbles.

They had contended that, as the political field has opened up and more candidates are eligible to run in future elections, the marbles and drums will become too onerous.

Previously, each polling station only required roughly three drums.

There seemed to be little purpose in contesting during Mr Jammeh’s 22 years in power.

In actuality, The Gambia has only ever had three presidents.

In 1994, Mr Jammeh overthrew independence leader Dawda Jawara in a coup.

Many observers agree that the only election Mr Jammeh won fairly was in 1996, when the country was still recovering from the coup and his authoritarian excesses had not yet manifested.

They claim that subsequent elections were rigged in his favor, and that his fall in 2016 caught him – and his successor Adama Barrow – off guard.

Mr Barrow was a consensus candidate chosen by a coalition of opposition parties, and the race had essentially been a two-horse battle. Mama Kandeh, the third contender, received around 17% of the vote.

President Barrow is vying for re-election, this time on the ticket of his newly created political party.

He appeared to be up against 22 candidates at one point, a nightmare scenario for the election commission given that the marble-and-drum system remains in place due to a lack of political will to modify it.

To its relief, the number of candidates has been reduced to six, which is still a large number for a country with a population of 2.2 million people.

Yahya Jammeh listens to one of his aides in Banjul on 29 November 2016 during an election rally in The Gambia ahead of presidential polls which the incumbent went on to lose
Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule has been investigated by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC): AFP

Jammeh continues to be contentious.

The fact that there are so many contenders reflects how much the country has evolved, and continues to change.

People used to be afraid of running against Mr Jammeh or thought it was a waste of effort.

Fear has faded in what is now known as “The New Gambia,” and freedom of expression reigns supreme.

Wagan, a comedian, has a weekly TV show in which he mocks all of the major politicians, including the president – something that would have been impossible five years ago.

Journalists can say whatever they want without fear of being arrested, tortured, or killed, as they were under Mr. Jammeh.

During the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC), which heard testimony from almost 400 victims from January 2019 to May 2021, some of these atrocities were revealed.

Last Monday, it handed over its 17-volume final report to the president, who now has six months to reply to it and its recommendations.

This means that whoever wins on December 4th will be in charge of starting the genuine process of repairing the wounds created by Mr Jammeh’s rule.

The former president is attempting to throw his shadow over the polls from his exile in Equatorial Guinea.

The 56-year-old remains a contentious personality, as seen by a rift with the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction, the party he established (APRC).

It has formed a formal partnership with President Barrow’s party, much to the chagrin of Mr Jammeh, who instead made a series of audio recordings endorsing Mr Kandeh.

However, the Covid epidemic has left a long shadow over The Gambia, as well as the rest of the world.

The country, which is known for its gorgeous beaches and diverse wildlife, is primarily reliant on tourism and has been severely harmed by the travel restrictions. Many people have lost their employment as a result of the recession.

There are currently a few tourists, but much more must be done to return to pre-Covid levels.

Even before the coronavirus, the country had a disproportionately high number of migrants attempting to enter Europe due to its small size.

Unemployment is a major factor, but it is not the only one.

The greatest challenge for whoever wins the most marbles on December 4th will be growing and generating opportunities in The Gambia to make it more appealing to inhabitants rather than just tourists.

There are currently a few tourists, but much more must be done to return to pre-Covid levels.

Even before the coronavirus, the country had a disproportionately high number of migrants attempting to enter Europe due to its small size.

Unemployment is a major factor, but it is not the only one.

The greatest challenge for whoever wins the most marbles on December 4th will be growing and generating opportunities in The Gambia to make it more appealing to inhabitants rather than just tourists.


Six candidates in the running:

  • Adama Barrow (National People’s Party) – the incumbent
  • Ousainou Darboe (United Democratic Party) – a lawyer who briefly served as Mr Barrow’s vice-president. He was part of the coalition that brought down Mr Jammeh and is contesting for a fifth time
  • Essa Mbye Faal (Independent) – a lawyer and former lead counsel at the recently concluded TRRC. Contesting for the first time
  • Mama Kandeh (Gambia Democratic Congress) – came third in the 2016 contest, backed by Mr Jammeh
  • Abdoulie Ebrima Jammeh (National Unity Party) – a former teacher who once headed the country’s civil aviation authority. Contesting for the first time
  • Halifa Sallah (People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism) – an MP contesting for the fifth time
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