Research carried out by
7 Key Takeaways: Cost of Politics
7 Key Takeaways: Cost of Politics
Population: 3.5 million
Head of Government: President Adama Barrow
Ruling party/coalition: National People’s Party
Last election: April 2022
Next election: 2027
Number of registered voters: 962,157 (2022)
Annual salary of member of legislature: D600,0000 (US$14,742)
Year of study: 2020 and 2025
Under the new Elections Bill passed by the National Assembly in September 2025, parliamentary aspirants must pay GMD 150,000 (up from GMD 5,000) to contest.
70% of all candidates surveyed spent less than GMD 1.1 million. A further 20% reported expenditures of over GMD 2.2 million, with nearly half of those exceeding GMD 3.3 million.
Candidates believe that the more they are financially active in solving people’s economic needs, the more likely their chances of winning popular support. 42% of survey respondents spent more than GMD 300,000 making social giving the single largest expenditure category across all campaign-related activities.
Political rallies remain among the most visible and resource-intensive components of electoral campaigning with an average spending of GMD 185,000.
Candidates said that occupying the parliamentary seat was more of a burden rather than a reward, as the social responsibilities sometimes overwhelm them.
64% of female respondents agreed that being a woman made it more expensive to run for office, compared with just 24% of men.
Just five of the 58 elected members of the National Assembly are women with monetary and socio-cultural barriers key obstacles
Population: 3.5 million
Head of Government: President Adama Barrow
Ruling party/coalition: National People’s Party
Last election: April 2022
Next election: 2027
Number of registered voters: 962,157 (2022)
Annual salary of member of legislature: D600,0000 (US$14,742)
Year of study: 2020 and 2025
Key Findings
Click on the headings below to find out more information
Context
- Since independence in 1965, The Gambia has held periodic multi-party elections. But it had never registered an electoral turnover of power until December 2016 when independent presidential aspirant Adama Barrow, backed by seven opposition political parties, defeated incumbent, Yahya Jammeh.
- Women, who constitute more than half of the population and 57% of registered voters , occupy only five of 58 seats in the National Assembly. Representation in the executive and local government remains similarly limited. As of 2024, only 3 of 22 ministers (13.6%) were women, and they held just 18 of 120 councillor seats (7%) nationwide . Persons with disabilities (PWDs) remain almost entirely excluded from elective or senior appointed office, underscoring the broader intersectional barriers to inclusion in Gambian governance.
- The recently passed Elections Bill, although not yet assented to by the President, will increase fee thresholds and has sparked controversy precisely because of fears that it will further exclude less-resourced aspirants. Critics argue that higher deposits and registration costs privilege affluent individuals and parties, undermining the democratic principle that political leadership should be accessible to all citizens not just those who can mobilise significant financial resources.
Key expenditure categories
- Campaigning in The Gambia entails a broad set of expenses that extend well beyond official nomination fees. Survey data indicate that these costs include posters, branded items, transport, rallies, social contributions, and accommodation each of which imposes distinct financial pressures depending on gender, candidate type, and access to networks.
- Branded clothing is also a core visibility tool during the 21-day campaign period that signals political strength and identity. The average outlay across all aspirants was GMD 115,000, but 42% of respondents spent less than GMD 50,000.
- Platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) have become increasingly central campaign tools for engaging voters, mobilising supporters, and enhancing visibility. Although it remains cheaper than traditional advertising, it still saw expenditures of GMD 32,000 on average with variation across gender.
- During the official campaign period, transport-related costs surge as candidates seek to reach voters across geographically dispersed constituencies.
- Providing food and drinks during campaign activities is viewed as a gesture of generosity and respect; an expected act that reinforces a candidate’s social standing and connection to the community.
- Contributions to local events and groups, encompassing donations to funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies, religious gatherings, and community fundraisers represent one of the most significant and enduring costs of political participation in The Gambia, costs which extend beyond formal campaign periods.
Cost of politics drivers
- When a National Assembly member does work within their mandate, it is not seen as them doing what they should do, but as doing their constituents a favour, one that is in return for constituents casting their ballot for that individual.
- The Gambia suffers from an inherent lack of organisational party structures. Incumbent political parties have historically been sustained by their access to state resources. But their structural weaknesses have been exposed immediately after they vacate political power.
- In the Gambia’s newly liberalised political space, the personal costs of politics for individual aspirants are rising rapidly. For instance, one parliamentarian explained that the cost of his re-election increased from D25,000 in 2012 to D200,000 in 2017; an almost tenfold increase.
- The style of campaign adopted by candidates and the size of the constituency can determine how much a candidate spends during the campaign. Rallies are considered more expensive when compared with door-to-door campaigns, but they also have the potential of addressing a wider audience.
- Incumbent MPs can draw upon established political party machinery, diaspora networks, and state-linked patronage systems; mechanisms not available to councilors, non-incumbent aspirants and independents who overwhelmingly depend on personal savings, community fundraising, or high-interest informal loans to sustain their campaigns.
Implications for inclusive democracy
- Although many parties boast of democratic constitutions and gender equality policies, implementation remains largely symbolic. Few allocate financial or logistical support to female aspirants. Women, youth, and marginalised members described internal party democracy as controlled by a small elite circle.
- While campaign expenditures in The Gambia officially concludes once the elections are over, qualitative evidence reveals that the cost of political visibility continues long after ballots are cast. This “afterlife” of campaign spending comprising community handouts, event sponsorships, and attendance at social functions is an informal but crucial requirement for sustaining legitimacy and recognition.
- The persistent absence of financial transparency and accountability in The Gambia’s political landscape creates a system that is “opaque,” “lawless,” and “highly manipulated,” where party funds, state resources, and private donations often flow without trace or public scrutiny.
- Informal social and cultural expectations to finance funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies, or community events place an additional, heavier, and often invisible burden on aspiring candidates with limited means. What appears to be “low-cost politics” on paper is, in practice, a system of hidden and unequal costs, shaped by structural disparities in financial capacity and institutional support.
- Gambian politics is still perceived as a male domain and women who aspire to leadership positions are stigmatised, harassed, and often ostracised. Beyond financial challenges, a recurring sentiment was that women’s political ambition contradicts cultural ideals of femininity.
- Youth and PWD exclusion in politics is not simply a matter of opportunity but one of systemic inequality rooted in institutional neglect, social prejudice, and economic barriers. Despite being the demographic majority, young people in The Gambia remain largely excluded from meaningful political participation, both within parties and in electoral contests.
Conclusions and recommendations
- Require candidates and parties to disclose all contributions and expenditures, including in-kind donations, and set realistic spending limits by office type. However, these rules must be gender-sensitive, as women tend to spend more in certain areas and rely on in-kind support that is harder to track, which could inadvertently place an extra burden on them.
- More work must be done to ensure voters are educated about the role of parliamentarians, so that they better understand the implications of their choices.
- Develop public campaigns that showcase successful female and disabled leaders in order to dispel myths about women’s competence or morality in politics and celebrate inclusive leadership. Involving imams, pastors, chiefs and elders in promoting messages of equality and acceptance of women, youth and PWDs in leadership roles will be critical as cultural gatekeepers can be powerful allies in shifting socio-cultural norms.
- For the most part, partisan politics in The Gambia is not driven by issues or ideological leaning, but by political favours exchanged between voters and candidates that come with increasing cost implications. The relationship between parties and voters must be redefined to make voting based on merit.
- Require political parties to adopt open, merit-based nomination procedures with clearly defined criteria, timelines, and oversight mechanisms. Informal payments, gifts, or favours in exchange for endorsement should be strictly prohibited and monitored. Both the IEC and the Inter-Party Committee (IPC) can play complementary roles in overseeing compliance.
- Create a public campaign fund that provides matching grants to parties based on the proportion of women, youth and PWD candidates they field, incentivising parties to nominate under represented groups.
- Collaborate with microfinance institutions and commercial banks to design loan products for political campaigns, offering reduced interest rates, flexible repayment schedules, minimal collateral requirements and safeguards to prevent indebtedness. This will enable women and PWDs who often lack property to access formal credit.
