Wherever you go in the Gambia, you will find people in the streets chattering about the presidential election surrounded by an air of excitement. Gambians call this chatter ‘gisgis’ and it is all about politics these days. On 4 December 2021, Gambians went to the polls. The first elections without the former 22 year-long president Yahya Jammeh contesting passed peacefully. His successor Adama Barrow, elected in 2016 quite surprisingly, was confirmed in power. With that, the Gambia passed a litmus test: having decided for continuity in times of change, Gambians send a strong signal of democratic practice to the region.
Author: Sait Matty Jaw
Sait Matty Jaw ist assoziierter Forscher beim Forschungsbereich „Glokale Verflechtungen“ der HSFK und Wissenschaftler im Projekt „Lokale Wahrnehmungen regionaler Interventionen: AU und ECOWAS in Burkina Faso und Gambia“. Er ist geschäftsführender Direktor des Zentrums für Forschung und Politikentwicklung (CRPD) in Gambia und Dozent für Politikwissenschaft an der Universität von Gambia. Sein Hauptforschungsinteresse gilt der gambischen Politik und Institutionen. // Sait Matty Jaw is associate fellow at PRIF's Research Department “Glocal Junctions” and researcher in the project “Local perceptions of regional interventions: AU and ECOWAS in Burkina Faso and The Gambia”. He is executive director of the Center for Research and Policy Development (CRPD) in The Gambia and political science lecturer at the University of The Gambia. His main research interest is Gambian Politics and Institutions. | Twitter: @saitmatty
