THE GAMBIA · POLITICS
President Adama Barrow of The Gambia says his government failed to deliver a new constitution because opposition lawmakers voted against it, and he singled out the United Democratic Party (UDP), the country’s main opposition party. According to a Gambian news report, he made the claim in a television interview reported on Friday 30 October 2026, about five weeks before a presidential election on Saturday 5 December in which he seeks a third term.
For US readers, the dispute matters because The Gambia, a small West African country almost surrounded by Senegal, is heading to the polls without a new constitution, after a draft stalled amid disputes that included presidential term limits. The 1997 Constitution, written under former ruler Yahya Jammeh, who governed from 1994 to 2017, is still in force.
Key Facts
- What Barrow blames opposition lawmakers, including the UDP, for the failed constitution bill.
- When Interview reported Friday 30 October 2026; presidential vote Saturday 5 December 2026.
- Votes The most recent bill won 35 votes in favour and 21 against on 7 July 2025.
- Next Barrow says his National People’s Party (NPP) would draft a new bill if it wins the needed majority.
- Prediction markets Polymarket, a US prediction market, gives Barrow a 79.0% chance of winning the election (12 November, 3:19 a.m. ET).
Barrow says no new constitution was possible without the majority needed in parliament, which his party lacked. The UDP’s reply to his remarks is not yet known.
What Barrow Said
Barrow told a Gambian television channel that the constitution bill failed in the National Assembly, the country’s parliament, because opposition members voted against it. He said the government could not win enough support to pass it.
He said the government needed more than 40 votes and had about 35 lawmakers behind the bill. He blamed opposition members, notably the UDP, for voting against it.
Barrow also acknowledged the independence of the Assembly, saying its members decide for themselves how to vote. He said that is why a new constitution cannot pass without a large majority in parliament.
What He Promised Next
Barrow said he cannot guarantee a new constitution unless his party, the NPP, wins the required majority in parliament. If it does, he said, the NPP would draft a new constitution bill, submit it to the Assembly and campaign for it.
The Assembly would then decide whether it passes. Our report on his filing for a third term covers the same conditional pledge.
How the Last Bill Failed
ConstitutionNet, a constitutional-reform resource run by International IDEA, an intergovernmental body that supports democracy, records that the most recent bill, the Constitution (Promulgation) Bill 2024, which would have enacted a new constitution, failed at its second reading, the second formal stage of debate and voting, in the Assembly on 7 July 2025. According to the analysis, 35 members voted in favour and 21 against, short of the three-quarters majority the 1997 Constitution requires.
The same analysis, by Dr Satang Nabaneh, a law professor at the University of Dayton, lists disputes over presidential term limits, weaker checks on executive power and thin public consultation among the reasons. Because the bill failed, the 1997 Constitution stays in force.
The Opposition’s Side
We have not seen a reply from the UDP, which is led by Ousainou Darboe, to Barrow’s latest remarks. Dr Nabaneh’s analysis argues that blocking the bill was also a strategic move to undermine the ruling party’s agenda and to force a return to the more widely accepted 2020 draft.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a US online prediction market, listed “Gambia Presidential Election Winner” with US$18,477 traded across all candidates as of 12 November 2026, 3:19 a.m. ET. It priced Barrow at 79.0% and Darboe, head of the UDP, at 18.5%; these are bets, not polls.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What It Means for You
The 5 December vote is a presidential election, and Barrow’s constitution pledge depends on winning the majority needed in parliament, which by his own account his party lacked when the last bill failed. Readers who follow democracy in West Africa can watch whether presidential term limits arrive through a law or stay a campaign promise.
For more background, see our guides to the Gambian electoral system and who holds power in The Gambia. Voter numbers are in our report on the register of about 1.15 million voters.
What Is Not Known
We could not watch the interview, and the account of it comes from one Gambian news report, so Barrow’s statements are reported, not confirmed. The report does not say which bill he meant.
Barrow’s figure of more than 40 votes is consistent with a three-quarters rule applied to an Assembly of 57 members, which comes to 43 votes. He is reported to have described the requirement differently in other remarks, so we state the rule as ConstitutionNet does.
What to Watch Next
The first dated checkpoint is the presidential vote on Saturday 5 December 2026. The second is whether any party tables a new constitution bill after it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Adama Barrow?
Adama Barrow is the president of The Gambia and leader of the National People’s Party (NPP). He is seeking a third term in the election on Saturday 5 December 2026.
Why does The Gambia have no new constitution?
The National Assembly rejected the latest draft on 7 July 2025, with 35 votes in favour and 21 against, short of a three-quarters majority. The 1997 Constitution therefore remains in force.
What does Barrow say he will do?
He says he will draft a new bill and campaign for it if his party wins the required majority in parliament. He says he cannot guarantee a new constitution without that majority.
Sources: statements of President Adama Barrow in a Gambian television interview reported on 30 October 2026, as described in a Gambian news report (interview not viewed directly); ConstitutionNet, analysis of the National Assembly vote of 7 July 2025 (constitutionnet.org); Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which runs Gambian elections, election date of 5 December 2026.
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