1997 Gambian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia on 2 January 1997 three months after presidential elections. The first parliamentary elections since Yahya Jammeh's 1994 coup, they were also the first parliamentary elections to be held under the new constitution approved in a 1996 referendum. However, Decree 89 meant that pre-1994 parties (such as the former ruling People's Progressive Party) were still banned. Freedom House characterized the election as "deeply flawed."

1997 Gambian parliamentary election

2 January 1997
All 49 seats in the National Assembly 25 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	73.21%
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– APRC Yahya Jammeh 52.13 33 New UDP Ousainou Darboe 33.97 7 New PDOIS Sidia Jatta 7.88 1 +1 NRP Hamat Bah 2.16 2 New Independents – 3.87 2 −1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Speaker of the National Assembly before Speaker of the National Assembly after Position established Mustapha B. Wadda APRC

The elections were originally scheduled for 11 December 1996, but following an attack on military barracks at Farafenni at the start of November, they were postponed, and all political rallies were banned. Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction won 33 of the 45 elected seats, enough to change the constitution.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction	160,470	52.13	33	New
	United Democratic Party	104,568	33.97	7	New
	PDOIS	24,272	7.88	1	+1
	National Reconciliation Party	6,639	2.16	2	New
	Independents	11,907	3.87	2	–1
Presidential appointees				4	–4
Total		307,856	100.00	49	–1
Total votes		307,856	–
Registered voters/turnout		420,507	73.21
Source: IEC