By Buba Gagigo
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) finished announcing the official results for the chairpersons and mayoral elections for the eight councils across the country on Sunday, May 21. The results show that the United Democratic Party (UDP) won the popular vote, with a margin of 15,000 votes. This is the UDP’s third consecutive victory in popular vote in the last three election cycles, including the parliamentary, councilors, and now mayoral elections.
The National People’s Party (NPP) of President Adama Barrow narrowly won the parliamentary election, winning 18 of the 53 contested seats. The opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) came in second with 15 seats, and independent candidates won 11 seats. Despite winning more seats, the NPP received fewer popular votes than the UDP.
The parliamentary election, which took place in 2022, was seen as a test of President Barrow’s popularity. Barrow was re-elected president in 2021 with 52% of the vote, but the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) won the popular vote in the parliamentary election. This was seen as a sign that there is still a significant amount of opposition to Barrow’s government. The United Democratic Party garnered 148276 votes while the National People’s party had a total of 143826 votes across the country in what is described by observers as a low turnout election.
In the recent ward councilor elections, the National People’s Party (NPP) won more seats than the United Democratic Party (UDP). However, the UDP received more votes overall. This is because the UDP is dominating in the most populous regions of the country, the Kanifing Municipal Council and the West Coast Region.
The United Democratic Party (UDP) won the recent councilor election with 146,141 votes, or 36.95% of the vote. The National People’s Party (NPP) came in second with 137,344 votes, or 34.73% of the vote.
The opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) won the majority of votes in the recently concluded Mayor and Chairmen election in the Gambia. The UDP won in the following areas:
- Banjul City Council (BCC)
- Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC)
- Brikama Area Council (BAC)
- Mansakonko Area Council (MKAC)
The NPP won the following areas:
· Basse Area Council
· Janjanbureh Area Council
· Kuntaur Area Council
· Kerewan Area Council
The UDP won a total of 209,465 votes, while the National People’s Party (NPP) won a total of 194,247 votes. This means that the UDP won by a margin of 15,218 votes, giving them a trifecta in their popular vote winning margin.