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In The Gambia, elections still carry a distinctive sound: the clink of a marble dropped into a metal drum. To many outsiders, it is a charming political artifact — proof that democracy can wear local clothing and still work. To many Gambians, it is something else: a reminder that the country’s most important civic ritual
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As The Gambia approaches its 2026 presidential election, the country finds itself at a critical juncture in its post-authoritarian political trajectory. Nearly a decade after the peaceful removal of long-time ruler Yahya Jammeh, the election is less about the novelty of democratic change and more about whether democratic norms have become sufficiently institutionalized to endure
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By any measure, The Gambia’s transition in 2017 was a moment of relief. After two decades of authoritarian rule, the peaceful exit of Yahya Jammeh and the inauguration of Adama Barrow signaled hope for democracy, reform, and the restoration of sovereignty. Nearly a decade later, however, a different concern has taken root – one less
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When Gambians swept Adama Barrow into office in 2016, ending Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year authoritarian rule, the country became an unexpected symbol of democratic possibility in West Africa. The world applauded the peaceful transition, the courage of voters, and the insistence – by regional bodies and Gambian civil society alike – that the will of the
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The Gambia’s dramatic political transition in 2016 was more than a change of government; it was a collective sigh of relief from a nation that had held its breath for 22 years. It was a promise. A promise of a new dawn, of accountability, and of a democracy that would truly serve its people. Yet,
The Civic Scribe: Articles & Poems 