{
  "data": {
    "id": "gambia-presidential-2026",
    "country": "GM",
    "country_name": "Gambia",
    "date": "2026-12-05",
    "date_status": "declared",
    "kind": "presidential",
    "conditional": null,
    "timezone": "Africa/Banjul",
    "status": "scheduled",
    "last_verified_at": "2026-09-24T19:44:52Z",
    "stale": false,
    "stale_reason": null,
    "provenance": {
      "from": "researcher agent 2026-09-24: IEC Electoral Calendar 2026-2027 (iec.gm PDF), iec.gm Voting Procedures, iec.gm results index, Constitution of The Gambia 1997 ss.48-49 (constituteproject.org), IFES Elections FAQ Gambia 2021, The Point 10 Oct 2025, Gambia Journal 10 Sep 2026, VOA 5 and 28 Dec 2021, Al Jazeera 6 Dec 2021, France 24 5 Dec 2021",
      "licence": "CC BY 4.0 (Election Index)"
    },
    "url": "https://electionindex.org/election/gambia-presidential-2026",
    "races": [
      {
        "id": "president",
        "key": "gambia-presidential-2026/president",
        "name": "President",
        "body": "head-of-state",
        "seats": null,
        "polls_close_utc": "2026-12-05T17:00:00Z",
        "authority": {
          "id": "gm-iec",
          "name": "Independent Electoral Commission",
          "name_local": null,
          "role": "electoral-commission",
          "homepage": "https://iec.gm/",
          "results_index": "https://iec.gm/cat_doc/election-results/",
          "open_data": null
        },
        "status": "scheduled",
        "expected_stage_now": null,
        "observed": false,
        "final_expected": {
          "from": "2026-12-05T20:00:00Z",
          "by": "2026-12-09T23:59:59Z",
          "confidence": "precedent",
          "basis": "The IEC chairman declares the winner. 2021: chairman Alieu Momarr Njai declared Barrow 'duly elected' late on Sunday 5 Dec 2021, day 1 after the 4 Dec vote (VOA 5 Dec 2021; Al Jazeera 6 Dec 2021). 2016: vote 1 Dec, results released 2 Dec (IFES FAQ 2021: 'There is no official date for the announcement of election results ... results have been tabulated within 24 to 48 hours'). We found no statutory deadline: the Elections Act, 2025 (cited for this election's nominations, Malagen 2026) was not available to read online. The window runs to the end of Wednesday 9 Dec 2026, day 4, erring late beyond both precedents. The floor (20:00 UTC on polling night) is an estimate: a same-night declaration has no precedent. Election system: first past the post, one round; Constitution s.48 requires a second ballot only if the top candidates tie, 'not later than fourteen days' after. Challenges: a participating party or independent candidate may petition the Supreme Court 'within ten days of the declaration of the result' (Constitution s.49). The Court does not confirm the result otherwise. 2021: the UDP petition was dismissed on procedural grounds on 28 Dec 2021 (VOA, 28 Dec 2021)."
        },
        "stages": [
          {
            "stage": "election-night",
            "from": "2026-12-05T17:00:00Z",
            "by": "2026-12-06T23:59:59Z",
            "replacedAt": null,
            "confidence": "precedent",
            "citation": "IEC (iec.gm, Voting Procedures): 'Polls open at 8.00 am and close at 5.00pm', and voters still queuing at 5 pm may vote, so the last votes can be cast after 17:00. The Gambia is UTC+0 with no DST, so polls close at 17:00 UTC. Votes are counted at the polling stations and collated by constituency (IFES FAQ, Nov 2021). 2021: partial results were public on Sunday 5 Dec, the day after the 4 Dec vote, and were contested by three candidates before the final declaration (France 24, Al Jazeera, 5-6 Dec 2021). The window closes at the end of Sunday 6 Dec 2026. These are partial counts, not the IEC's declared result.",
            "source": null,
            "observedAt": null
          },
          {
            "stage": "final-result",
            "from": "2026-12-05T20:00:00Z",
            "by": "2026-12-09T23:59:59Z",
            "replacedAt": null,
            "confidence": "precedent",
            "citation": "The IEC chairman declares the winner. 2021: chairman Alieu Momarr Njai declared Barrow 'duly elected' late on Sunday 5 Dec 2021, day 1 after the 4 Dec vote (VOA 5 Dec 2021; Al Jazeera 6 Dec 2021). 2016: vote 1 Dec, results released 2 Dec (IFES FAQ 2021: 'There is no official date for the announcement of election results ... results have been tabulated within 24 to 48 hours'). We found no statutory deadline: the Elections Act, 2025 (cited for this election's nominations, Malagen 2026) was not available to read online. The window runs to the end of Wednesday 9 Dec 2026, day 4, erring late beyond both precedents. The floor (20:00 UTC on polling night) is an estimate: a same-night declaration has no precedent. Election system: first past the post, one round; Constitution s.48 requires a second ballot only if the top candidates tie, 'not later than fourteen days' after. Challenges: a participating party or independent candidate may petition the Supreme Court 'within ten days of the declaration of the result' (Constitution s.49). The Court does not confirm the result otherwise. 2021: the UDP petition was dismissed on procedural grounds on 28 Dec 2021 (VOA, 28 Dec 2021).",
            "source": null,
            "observedAt": null
          }
        ],
        "sources": [
          {
            "url": "https://iec.gm/cat_doc/election-results/",
            "role": "results-final",
            "kind": "results_index",
            "kindReason": "results section without an election code",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "race",
            "note": "IEC index of official results documents (e.g. 'Presidential Election Results 4th December 2021', a constituency-level PDF). It is an index, not a page for this election. On 24 Sep 2026 there was no 2026 results page and no live results feed.",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://iec.gm/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ELECTORALCALENDAR2026-2027.pdf",
            "role": "timetable",
            "kind": "other",
            "kindReason": "election page without a results marker",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "race",
            "note": "IEC Electoral Calendar 2026-2027 (Oct 2025): Election Day 5 December 2026 (Constitution s.46); Gazette Election Notice 2 September 2026 (Elections Act s.40). It lists nothing after polling day. Its nomination and campaign dates were later revised by the IEC (nominations 3-14 Nov 2026 per The Standard / Gambia Journal, Sep 2026); polling day is unchanged.",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/2026-presidential-election-set-for-dec-5-iec-chairman",
            "role": "timetable",
            "kind": "other",
            "kindReason": "election page without a results marker",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "race",
            "note": "The Point, 10 Oct 2025: IEC chairman Joseph Colley announces the presidential election for 5 December 2026.",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Gambian_presidential_election",
            "role": "see-also",
            "kind": "other",
            "kindReason": "election page without a results marker",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "race",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://iec.gm/",
            "role": "authority-home",
            "kind": "emb_home",
            "kindReason": "site root: cannot answer a results question",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "authority",
            "check": null
          }
        ],
        "page_activity": [],
        "government": null,
        "url": "https://electionindex.org/election/gambia-presidential-2026#president"
      }
    ]
  },
  "meta": {
    "dataset_version": "2026-09-24.4702fd43",
    "built_at": "2026-09-24T20:45:22Z",
    "generated_at": "2026-09-24T21:41:01.751Z",
    "licence": "CC BY 4.0: credit \"Election Index (electionindex.org)\" and link to https://electionindex.org",
    "docs": "https://electionindex.org/docs"
  }
}