Editing The Gambia (section)

==History==

{{Main|History of the Gambia}}

=== Muslim and Portuguese influence (9th–16th centuries) ===

[[Arab]] traders provided the first written accounts of The Gambia area in the ninth and tenth centuries. During the tenth century, Muslim merchants and scholars established communities in several West African commercial centres. Both groups established trans-Saharan trade routes. They carried out a large export trade of local people taken captive in raids and sold as [[slaves]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gambia, The (10/02) |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/gambiathe/26367.htm |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> Gold and ivory were also exported, and the trade routes were used to import manufactured goods to these areas.

[[File:Wassu Stone Cirles shaunamullally 02.jpg|thumb|left|[[Senegambian stone circles]] (megaliths) run from Senegal through The Gambia. They are described by [[UNESCO]] as "the largest concentration of stone circles seen anywhere in the world".]]

By the 11th or 12th century, the rulers of kingdoms such as [[Takrur]] (a monarchy centred on the [[Senegal River]] just to the north), ancient Ghana and [[Gao]] had converted to Islam. They had appointed to their courts Muslims who were literate in the [[Arabic language]].<ref>Easton, P. (1999) [http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/581121468329358898/Education-and-Koranic-literacy-in-West-Africa "Education and Koranic Literacy in West Africa"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220150050/http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/581121468329358898/Education-and-Koranic-literacy-in-West-Africa |date=20 December 2016}}. ''IK Notes on Indigenous Knowledge and Practices'', no. 11, World Bank Group. pp. 1–4</ref> At the beginning of the 14th century, most of what is today called The Gambia was part of the [[Mali Empire]]. The Portuguese reached this area by sea in the mid-15th century and began to dominate overseas trade.

=== English and French administration (17th–19th centuries) ===

In 1588, the claimant to the [[Portuguese throne]], [[António, Prior of Crato]], sold exclusive trade rights on the [[Gambia River]] to English merchants. [[Letters patent]] from [[Queen Elizabeth I]] confirmed the grant. In 1618, King [[James I of England]] granted a charter to an English company for trade with The Gambia and the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]] (now [[Ghana]]). Between 1651 and 1661, some parts of The Gambia – St. Andrew's Island in the Gambia River, including Fort Jakob, and St. Mary Island (modern day Banjul) and [[Fort Jillifree]] – came under the rule of the [[Duchy of Courland and Semigallia]], a vassal state of [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] in what is now [[Latvia]], having been bought by Prince [[Jacob Kettler]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yevstratyev |first=O. |date=2018 |title=Chronological Dating of the Duchy of Courland's Colonial Policy |url=https://www.lvi.lu.lv/lv/LVIZ_2018_files/3_numurs/O_Yevstratyev_Chronological_LVIZ_2018_3.pdf |journal=Latvijas Vēstures Institūta Žurnāls |volume=3 |pages=34–72 |doi=10.22364/lviz.108.02 |access-date=22 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223074148/https://www.lvi.lu.lv/lv/LVIZ_2018_files/3_numurs/O_Yevstratyev_Chronological_LVIZ_2018_3.pdf |archive-date=23 February 2019 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> The colonies were formally ceded to England in 1664.

During the late 17th century and throughout the 18th century, the [[British Empire]] and the [[French colonial empire|French Empire]] struggled continually for political and commercial supremacy in the regions of the Senegal River and the Gambia River. The British Empire occupied The Gambia when an expedition led by [[Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel|Augustus Keppel]] landed there following the [[capture of Senegal]] in 1758. The 1783 [[Treaty of Versailles (1783)|Treaty of Versailles]] gave Great Britain possession of the Gambia River, but the French retained a tiny enclave at [[Albreda]] on the river's north bank. This was finally ceded to the United Kingdom in 1856.

==== Slavery ====
As many as three million people may have been taken as [[slavery|slaves]] from this general region during the three centuries that the [[transatlantic slave trade]] operated. It is not known how many people were taken as slaves by intertribal wars before the transatlantic slave trade began. Most of those taken were sold by other Africans to Europeans: some were prisoners of intertribal wars; some were victims sold because of unpaid debts, and many others were simply victims of kidnapping.<ref>{{cite book |last=Park |first=Mungo |edition=1887 Cassell & Company |title=Travels in the Interior of Africa |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5305 |volume=II |chapter=Chapter XXII – War and Slavery |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924192512/http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/5305 |archive-date=24 September 2009 |via=Project Gutenberg }}</ref>

[[File:James Island and Fort Gambia.jpg|thumb|A map of [[James Island (Gambia)|James Island]] and [[Fort Gambia]]]]

Traders initially sent people to Europe to work as servants until the market for labour expanded in the [[West Indies]] and North America in the 18th century. In 1807, the United Kingdom abolished the [[History of slavery|slave trade]] throughout its empire. It also tried, unsuccessfully,{{Clarify|date=July 2024}} to end the slave trade in The Gambia.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} Slave ships intercepted by the [[Royal Navy]]'s [[West Africa Squadron]] in the Atlantic were also returned to The Gambia, with people who had been slaves released on [[MacCarthy Island]] far up The Gambia River where they were expected to establish new lives.<ref name=xyz>{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/3060072 |jstor=3060072 |title=Guests of the Crown: Convicts and Liberated Slaves on McCarthy Island, the Gambia |journal=The Geographical Journal |volume=160 |issue=2 |pages=136–142 |year=1994 |last=Webb |first=Patrick |bibcode=1994GeogJ.160..136W |author-link=Patrick Webb (nutritionist) }}</ref> The British established the military post of Bathurst (now [[Banjul]]) in 1816.

=== Gambia Colony and Protectorate (1821–1965) ===

{{Main|Gambia Colony and Protectorate}}

[[File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-25-4.jpg|thumb|right|The British Governor, [[George Chardin Denton]] (1901–1911), and his party, 1905]]

In the ensuing years, Bathurst (now [[Banjul]]) was at times under the jurisdiction of the British Governor-General in [[Sierra Leone]]. In 1888, The Gambia became a separate colony.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B9eyDwAAQBAJ |title=Gambia Foreign Policy and Government Guide |date=7 February 2007 |publisher=International Business Publications |isbn=978-1-4330-1692-9 |page=28 |access-date=11 May 2023 |archive-date=6 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006225151/https://books.google.com/books?id=B9eyDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

An agreement between Britain and [[French Republic|France]] in 1889 established the boundaries of the colony. In 1891, a joint Anglo-French Boundary Commission faced resistance from local leaders whose lands would be divided.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-true-history-of-the-gambias-bizarre-origin-story |title=The True Origin of The Gambia's Bizarre Borders |author=Atlas Obscura |date=20 January 2017 |access-date=6 December 2022 |archive-date=11 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011104609/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-true-history-of-the-gambias-bizarre-origin-story |url-status=live }}</ref> The Gambia became a [[British Crown colony]] called [[Gambia Colony and Protectorate|British Gambia]], divided for administrative purposes into the colony (city of Banjul and the surrounding area) and the protectorate (remainder of the territory). The Gambia received its own executive and legislative councils in 1901, and it gradually progressed toward self-government. Slavery was abolished in 1906<ref>{{cite web |title=The Gambia History |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/The-Gambia/History |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=24 May 2020 |archive-date=3 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103183728/https://www.britannica.com/place/The-Gambia/History |url-status=live }}</ref> and following a brief conflict between the British colonial forces and indigenous Gambians, British colonial authority was firmly established.<ref>{{cite book |last=Archer |first=Frances Bisset |year=1967 |title=The Gambia Colony and Protectorate: An Official Handbook |series=Library of African Study |pages=90–94 |isbn=978-0-7146-1139-6 }}</ref> In 1919, a romantic relationship between Travelling Commissioner J. K. McCallum and Wolof woman [[Fatou Khan]] scandalized the administration.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hassoum |first=Ceesay |editor1-first=Emmanuel K |editor1-last=Akyeampong |editor2-first=Henry Louis |editor2-last=Gates |title=Khan, Fatou |date=2012 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195382075.001.0001/acref-9780195382075-e-1069 |work=Dictionary of African Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195382075.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-538207-5 |access-date=16 January 2021 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125120640/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195382075.001.0001/acref-9780195382075-e-1069 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During World War II, some soldiers fought with the [[Allies of World War II]]. Though these soldiers fought mostly in [[Burma Campaign|Burma]], some died closer to home and a [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]] cemetery is in Fajara (close to Banjul). Banjul contained an [[airstrip]] for the [[US Army Air Forces]] and a port of call for Allied naval convoys.<ref name=Biz>{{Cite book |title=Gambia Business Law Handbook |volume=1: Strategic Information and Basic Laws |publisher=International Business Publications |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4387-6988-2 }}</ref>

After World War II, the pace of constitutional reform increased. Following general elections in 1962, the United Kingdom granted full internal self-governance in the following year.<ref name=Biz/>

[[File:Gambia 1953 stamps crop 6.jpg|thumb|Stamp with portrait of [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], 1953]]

=== Contemporary (1965–present) ===

==== Independence and formation of the republic ====

The Gambia achieved [[Gambia Independence Act 1964|independence]] on 18 February 1965, as a [[constitutional monarchy]] within the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], with [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]] as [[Queen of the Gambia|Queen of The Gambia]], represented by the [[Governor-General of The Gambia|Governor-General]]. Shortly thereafter, the national government held a [[1965 Gambian republic referendum|referendum]] proposing that the country become a [[republic]]. This referendum failed to receive the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution, but the results won widespread attention abroad as testimony to The Gambia's observance of secret balloting, honest elections, civil rights, and liberties.<ref name=Biz/>

On 24 April 1970, The Gambia became a [[Republic within the Commonwealth]], following a second [[1970 Gambian Republic referendum|referendum]]. Prime Minister Sir [[Dawda Kairaba Jawara]] assumed the office of [[President of the Gambia|President]], an [[Executive Presidency|Executive Post]], combining the offices of [[head of state]] and [[head of government]] which he held since 1962.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Drammeh |first=Seedy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zxzREAAAQBAJ&dq=1970+Prime+Minister+Sir+Dawda+Kairaba+Jawara&pg=PA119 |title=Rethinking Irregular Migration: Causes, Course, Consequences and Corrective Measures |date=14 June 2018 |publisher=African Books Collective |isbn=978-9983-960-42-6 |access-date=4 April 2024 |archive-date=28 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240728053709/https://books.google.com/books?id=zxzREAAAQBAJ&dq=1970+Prime+Minister+Sir+Dawda+Kairaba+Jawara&pg=PA119#v=onepage&q=1970%20Prime%20Minister%20Sir%20Dawda%20Kairaba%20Jawara&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> President Sir Dawda Jawara was re-elected five times.<ref name=ucdp>UCDP Conflict Encyclopedia</ref>

[[1981 Gambian coup attempt|An attempted coup]] on 29 July 1981 followed a weakening of the economy and allegations of corruption against leading politicians.<ref name=ucdp/> The coup attempt occurred while President Jawara was attending the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in London and was carried out by a rogue group of leftists calling themselves the National Revolutionary Council, composed of [[Kukoi Samba Sanyang]]'s Socialist and Revolutionary Labour Party (SRLP) and elements of the Field Force, a paramilitary force which constituted the bulk of the country's armed forces.<ref name=ucdp/>

President Jawara requested military aid from [[Senegal]], which deployed 400 troops to The Gambia on 31 July. By 6 August, some 2,700 Senegalese troops had been deployed, defeating the rebel force.<ref name=ucdp/> Between 500 and 800 people were killed during the coup and the ensuing violence.<ref name=ucdp/>

In 1982, in the aftermath of the 1981 attempted coup, Senegal and The Gambia signed a treaty of confederation. The [[Senegambia Confederation]] aimed to combine the armed forces of the two states and to unify their economies and currencies. The Gambia permanently withdrew from the confederation in 1989.

==== Following dissolution of the Senegambia Confederation ====
In 1994, the [[Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council]] (AFPRC) [[1994 Gambian coup d'état|deposed the Jawara government]] and banned opposition political activity. Lieutenant [[Yahya Jammeh]], chairman of the AFPRC, became head of state. Jammeh was just 29 years old at the time of the coup. The AFPRC announced a transition plan to return to a democratic civilian government.

The Provisional Independent Electoral Commission (PIEC) was established in December 1995 to conduct national elections and it supervised a referendum on a revised Constitution, the elections for president and the National Assembly by early January 1997.<ref name="Gambia IEC">{{cite web |title=History |url=https://iec.gm/about-iec/history/ |website=Independent Electoral Commission - IEC- The Gambia |access-date=10 September 2024}}</ref> In 1997 the {{Official website|url=https://iec.gm/|name=Independent Electoral Commission - IEC- The Gambia}} was established to replace the PIEC, responsible for the registration of voters and for the conduct of elections and referendums.<ref name="Gambia IEC"/>

The IEC organized the next 5-year elections for late 2001 and early 2002, and The Gambia completed a full cycle of [[Gambian presidential election, 2001|presidential]], [[Gambian parliamentary election, 2002|legislative]], and local elections, which foreign observers deemed free, fair, and transparent.<ref name=human>{{cite web |author=U.S. Department of State |title=U.S.D.S. Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2002: Gambia, The |date=31 March 2003 |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3e918c264.html |access-date=26 November 2021 }}</ref> President Yahya Jammeh, who was elected to continue in the position he had assumed during the coup, took the oath of office again on 21 December 2001. Jammeh's [[Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction]] (APRC) maintained its strong majority in the National Assembly, particularly after the main opposition [[United Democratic Party (The Gambia)|United Democratic Party]] (UDP) boycotted the legislative elections.<ref name=background>{{StateDept |section |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5459.htm#politics |title=Background Note: The Gambia }}</ref>

On 2 October 2013, The Gambian Interior Minister announced that The Gambia would leave [[Commonwealth of Nations|the Commonwealth]] with immediate effect, ending 48 years of membership of the organisation. The Gambian government said it had "decided that The Gambia will never be a member of any Neo-Colonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism".<ref name=nocom>
{{cite news |title=UK regrets The Gambia's withdrawal from Commonwealth |work=BBC News |date=3 October 2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24376127 |access-date=4 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003172723/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24376127 |archive-date=3 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 11 December 2015, President Jammeh (without any legal authority) unilaterally declared The Gambia an [[Islamic Republic]], calling it a break from the country's colonial past, although the constitution remained secular.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vines |first=Alex |date=22 January 2016 |title=The Gambia: Africa's (supposedly-short-lived) new Islamic republic |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35359593 |access-date=2 January 2023 |website=[[BBC]] }}</ref>

The months leading up to the [[2016 Gambian presidential election|2016 presidential election]] were tense. The youth leader of the main opposition [[United Democratic Party (The Gambia)|UDP]], Solo Sandeng, died in detention at the notorious [[State Intelligence Services (The Gambia)|National Intelligence Agency]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 January 2023 |title=The Gambian man who took on a tyrant and made history |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64262310 |access-date=4 June 2024 |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604154251/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64262310 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ousainou Darboe]], the leader of the UDP, and many senior members of his party were sent to jail for demanding the release of Solo Sandeng dead or alive.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 April 2016 |title=Gambia: Death of Ebrima Solo Sandeng must be investigated and protesters released |url=https://www.article19.org/resources/gambia-death-of-ebrima-solo-sandeng-must-be-investigated-and-protesters-released/ |access-date=5 June 2024 |website=Article 19 |archive-date=5 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240605103509/https://www.article19.org/resources/gambia-death-of-ebrima-solo-sandeng-must-be-investigated-and-protesters-released/ |url-status=live }}</ref> President Jammeh faced opposition leaders Adama Barrow from the Independent Coalition of parties<ref>[http://www.senenews.com/2016/10/31/gambie-lopposition-designe-adama-barrow-comme-candidat-unique-pour-affronter-yahya-jammeh-en-decembre_170269.html Gambie : l'opposition désigne Adama Barrow comme candidat unique pour affronter Yahya Jammeh en décembre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129211446/http://www.senenews.com/2016/10/31/gambie-lopposition-designe-adama-barrow-comme-candidat-unique-pour-affronter-yahya-jammeh-en-decembre_170269.html |date=29 November 2016}}. Senenews.com (31 October 2016). Retrieved on 18 December 2016.</ref> and Mamma Kandeh from The Gambia Democratic Congress party.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20161130035032/http://www.freedomnewspaper.com/gambia-will-mama-kandehs-nomination-papers-be-accepted/ Gambia: Will Mama Kandeh's Nomination Papers Be Accepted? – Freedom Newspaper]}}. Freedomnewspaper.com (6 November 2016). Retrieved on 18 December 2016.</ref>  The high court of the Gambia sentenced main opposition leader and human rights advocate [[Ousainou Darboe]] to 3 years in prison in July 2016,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/07/gambia-prison-sentences-for-opposition-leaders-continues-downward-spiral-for-human-rights/ |title=Gambia: Prison sentences for opposition leaders continues downward spiral for human rights |date=20 July 2016 |work=Amnesty International |access-date=29 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026164743/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/07/gambia-prison-sentences-for-opposition-leaders-continues-downward-spiral-for-human-rights/ |archive-date=26 October 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> disqualifying him from running in the presidential election. This gave Adama Barrow to contest under the UDP ticket.

Following the 1 December 2016 elections, the elections commission declared [[Adama Barrow]] the winner.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38183906 Gambia's Jammeh loses to Adama Barrow in shock election result] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629053218/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38183906 |date=29 June 2018}}. BBC News (2 December 2016). Retrieved on 18 December 2016.</ref> Jammeh, who had ruled for 22 years, first announced he would step down after losing the 2016 election before declaring the results void and calling for a new vote, sparking a [[Gambian presidential election, 2016|constitutional crisis]] and leading to an [[Invasion of the Gambia|invasion]] by an [[Economic Community of West African States|ECOWAS]] coalition.<ref name="BBC">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38271480 Gambia leader Yahya Jammeh rejects election result] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616002629/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38271480 |date=16 June 2018}}. BBC News (10 December 2016). Retrieved on 18 December 2016.</ref> On 20 January 2017, Jammeh announced that he had agreed to step down and would leave the country.<ref name="Agrees" />

In January 2017, President Barrow removed the "Islamic" title from The Gambia's name.<ref name="abr" /> On 14 February 2017, The Gambia began the process of returning to its membership of the Commonwealth and formally presented its application to re-join to Secretary-General [[Patricia Scotland]] on 22 January 2018.<ref name="boris">{{cite news |title=The Gambia: UK 'very pleased' about Commonwealth return |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38968336 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719150054/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38968336 |archive-date=19 July 2018 |access-date=22 June 2018 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name=cwlthre>{{cite press release |title=The Gambia presents formal application to re-join the Commonwealth |url=http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/gambia-presents-formal-application-re-join-commonwealth |access-date=24 January 2018 |agency=The Commonwealth |date=23 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124135618/http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/gambia-presents-formal-application-re-join-commonwealth |archive-date=24 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Boris Johnson]], who became the first British [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|foreign secretary]] to visit The Gambia since the country gained independence in 1965,<ref name="borisgambia" /> announced that the British government welcomed The Gambia's return to the Commonwealth.<ref name="borisgambia">{{cite news |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/boris-johnson-gambia-3241111-Feb2017/ |title=Boris Johnson is only delighted the Gambia wants back into the British Commonwealth |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215171821/http://www.thejournal.ie/boris-johnson-gambia-3241111-Feb2017/ |archive-date=15 February 2017 |website=TheJournal.ie |date=15 February 2017 }}</ref> The Gambia officially rejoined the Commonwealth on 8 February 2018.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/gambia-rejoins-commonwealth |title=The Gambia rejoins the Commonwealth |agency=Commonwealth of Nations |date=8 February 2018 |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714083101/http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/gambia-rejoins-commonwealth |archive-date=14 July 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/08/gambia-rejoins-commonwealth-democratic-election/ |title=Gambia rejoins the Commonwealth after democratic election |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=8 February 2018 |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612234935/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/08/gambia-rejoins-commonwealth-democratic-election/ |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 28 February 2018, [[Jaha Dukureh]], a women's rights activist was nominated for the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for her work in combating [[female genital mutilation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Jaha Dukureh to Graduate from UCF |url=https://www.ucf.edu/news/nobel-peace-prize-nominee-graduate-ucf/ |publisher=University of Central Florida News |work=UCF Today |date=3 May 2018 |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-date=26 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626104337/https://www.ucf.edu/news/nobel-peace-prize-nominee-graduate-ucf/ |author=Jenna Marina Lee}}</ref>

On 4 December 2021, Adama Barrow won re-election in the [[2021 Gambian presidential election|presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Felix |first1=Bate |last2=Saine |first2=Pap |title=Gambian President Barrow wins re-election; opposition cries foul |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/president-barrow-holds-early-lead-gambias-election-2021-12-05/ |work=Reuters |date=5 December 2021 |access-date=2021-12-06 |archive-date=2021-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206003745/https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/president-barrow-holds-early-lead-gambias-election-2021-12-05/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 20 December 2022, a supposed [[2022 Gambian coup attempt|coup attempt by the Gambian army was foiled]],<ref name="BBC-2022">{{Cite news |date=21 December 2022 |title=Gambia coup attempt foiled – government |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64055295 |access-date=21 December 2022 |archive-date=5 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205101052/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64055295 |url-status=live }}</ref> with four soldiers arrested. The Gambian [[Gambia Armed Forces|Armed Forces]] have denied that any attempt at a coup was made.<ref name="BBC-2022" /> Barrow's use of foreign troops for his security and for protection of some infrastructure has hurt his popularity.<ref name="BBC-2022"/>