Gambian presidential election, 1996
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Presidential elections were held in the Gambia on 29 September 1996. The first since Yahya Jammeh's 1994 coup, they were also the first elections to be held under the new constitution, and the first presidential elections to be held alone (i.e. not alongside simultaneous parliamentary elections). Voter turnout was exceptionally high, with 88% of the 446,541 registered voters voting.
Despite originally stating that he did not intend to run, Jammeh entered the race shortly before the election. He emerged victorious with 55.8% of the vote, winning the most votes in every district except Mansa Konko (where UDP candidate Ousainou Darboe was the most voted-for).
[edit] Results
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yahya Jammeh | Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction | 220,011 | 55.77% |
| Ousainou Darboe | United Democratic Party | 141,387 | 35.84% |
| Hamat Bah | National Reconciliation Party | 21,759 | 5.52% |
| Sidia Jatta | People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism |
11,337 | 2.87% |
| Invalid 1 | 43 | - | |
| Total (turnout 88.4%) | 394,537 | 100% | |
| Source: African Elections database | |||
1 The number of invalid votes is extremely low due to the country's unique voting system of putting marbles into drums, which means that almost no votes are rejected.
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