Ask the law
Who can vote, what to bring, who can stand, the deposits, the campaign rules, agents and observers, the count, who declares results and how to challenge them. Each answer gives the exact section, and you can read the text itself.
This is a guide, not legal advice. The text that counts is the Act as published in the Gazette. CRPD answers only from what the text says. Where the law is silent or unclear, the answer says so.
All questions
Read the Elections Act, 2025
All 155 sections, Part by Part, with the printed page each one starts on. Pick a section to read it, and see which questions in this guide cite it.
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Where the printed text is unclear
Places where the copy of the Act CRPD reads has a wording that is hard to follow, a cross reference that points to the wrong section, or a rule that differs from the Constitution or from another section. CRPD reports each one as printed and does not decide what the law should say.
About Ask the law
A plain words guide to the election law of The Gambia for voters, candidates, agents, observers, journalists and students.
What it is, and what it is not
This is a guide, not legal advice. The text that counts is the Act as published in the Gazette.
Every answer is written from the text of the Elections Act, 2025 or the Constitution, and gives the section it comes from. CRPD does not go beyond what the text says. Where the Act is silent, where its wording is unclear, or where two texts differ, the answer says so and shows both.
CRPD is an accredited, non partisan observer. Nothing here is advice to any party or candidate, and nothing here is an opinion on what the law should say.
For your own case, ask the Independent Electoral Commission or a lawyer.
Sources
- Elections Act, 2025. The 117 page copy in CRPD's files: 155 sections in eleven Parts and five Schedules. Section text and printed page numbers on this page come straight from that copy. Spelling and wording are as printed; wrapped lines are joined and the dash that introduces a list is shown as a colon.
- Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, 1997, as revised to 2018: Constitute Project text (constituteproject.org), sections 26, 39, 46, 47, 48, 49, 62, 89 and 90, read on 30 October 2026 through a web page reader. Sections 42, 43, 63 and 127 as verified in CRPD's research note on the IEC's legal authorities. The original 1997 wording of section 48(3) from the University of Minnesota copy (hrlibrary.umn.edu). Only short extracts are shown.
- IEC Code of Conduct for Election Observers (copy in CRPD's files).
- CRPD's Elections Act tracker for the passage of the Bill and the reported assent (The Standard, 30 September 2025; The Point via allAfrica, 29 January 2026).
Not verified
- The exact date of presidential assent, the Act number, the Gazette notice and the commencement date of the Elections Act, 2025. The Act was reported to have received assent in November 2025.
- Whether the copy CRPD reads is word for word the text published in the Gazette.
- The Constitution extracts were read through a web page reader, not from an official printed copy.
- Rules, Orders and regulations the Commission has made under the Act, and the Election Petition Rules, were not read for this guide.
If you hold an official copy, or you find an error, please tell CRPD through the contact form.
How the search works
The search runs on your own phone or computer. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. It matches the words of your question with the questions, answers and section numbers in this guide, and also understands common words such as ID, marble, MP or diaspora. Type a section number, such as 66, to see every answer that cites it.
Every question has its own link. Use Copy link or Share on WhatsApp under any answer to send it.