CRPD Hosts Press Briefing to Present Findings on Youth and Women’s Involvement in Gambian Politics

Sait Matty Jaw, The Afrobarometer Project Director For CRPD

By Ramatoulie Jawo 

The Center for Research and Policy Development (CRPD) held a press briefing and forum on Wednesday, bringing together key stakeholders to present the findings from their recent study on the political participation of youth and women in The Gambia. 

The survey aimed to gauge public opinions on the inclusion of women and youth in Gambian politics, identifying both the opportunities and obstacles to their meaningful participation at local and national levels.

The event attracted a diverse group of stakeholders, including government officials, civil society representatives, and policy developers, all of whom discussed the challenges faced by youth and women in the country’s political landscape.

CRPD’s goal is to promote a more inclusive political environment in The Gambia by empowering young people and women to actively shape the nation’s future.

Sait Matty Jaw, the Afrobarometer Project Director at CRPD, provided an overview of the study, highlighting key findings. He explained that the research had four primary objectives: to identify barriers hindering youth and women from engaging in political leadership and decision-making roles, and to uncover the cultural, economic, and organizational challenges limiting their involvement.

Jaw also pointed out the significant under-representation of women and youth in political leadership, particularly in party leadership and national governance, despite women comprising more than 57% of the voting age population. He emphasized that only three women have been elected to the National Assembly, with two more nominated, reflecting the low representation of women in political positions.

“So even as you can see from the quantitative survey we saw that there is a huge majority of Gambians that want the quota system, the affirmative action to be in place and that is what the citizen think and this also is in line with also what this youth political actors are saying that the lack of formal quota system in the Gambia has contributed to the limited representation of Women in national governance and party leadership position,”he said.Professor Luqman Saka, Director of Research and Knowledge Management at CRPD, explained that the survey specifically focused on issues related to the participation of women and youth in politics. The research included in-depth interviews, which allowed them to probe the opinions of citizens beyond simple yes-or-no questions, ensuring a deeper understanding of the socio-political challenges in The Gambia. 

“We also did a key information interview in which we are not just asking people yes, or no, true or false. We use the key information interview (KII) to ask probing question such that we will be able to match what people give in opinion surveys, we will be able to probe their mind to see whether what they give us yes, or no to see whether what they give us corroborate and have a report that speaks to the social political reality of our environment and as well as we did a desk review,”he said 

Their research reveals that citizens share similar views on the challenges young people face in getting elected to the National Assembly, which align closely with the perceived obstacles for women candidates. This includes both willingness to vote for women and young candidates.Mariama Davies, CRPD’s Program Manager, shared insights from the survey on the performance of the National Assembly and the government’s efforts to return the draft constitution to Parliament. She pointed out that younger citizens were less satisfied with the organization of the last election compared to older citizens. Specifically, only 41% of those aged 18-25 felt the election was well-organized, compared to 63% of those aged 60 and above.
“So you can see that the age cohort of 18 to 25 were not very impressed. There is only 41% who said that it was well organized, as almost 63% of those aged 60 years and above. And then the citizen’s opinion about the performance of the Gambian legislature. If we focus on the top part, that is this one, which is the national average, you can see that only 2% are saying that is excellent, while we have 36% and 35% saying it is either bad or not so good. So is like we are not doing so well in this area at all. Maybe there is more sensitization needed, “she said.

Ansumana Ceesay, Senior Program Assistant at the National Democratic Institute, expressed his institution’s support for the CRPD’s research, emphasizing the importance of the partnership in promoting democratic values.

The CRPD’s research also indicated that a large majority of citizens (81%) expressed willingness to vote for a woman candidate, with women showing even stronger support (88%) compared to men (73%).

This study is part of The Gambia’s ongoing democratic transition, exploring how to incorporate diverse voices into the political process and governance structures.

The Center for Research and Policy Development (CRPD) is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan organization committed to fostering inclusive democratic governance in The Gambia.