government: presidential republic

state of civil and political rights: Partly free

constitution: 16 January 1997; amended 2001, 2004, 2018; in early 2018, the “Constitutional Review Commission,” was established to draft and assist in instituting a new constitution; a second draft completed in March 2020 was rejected by the National Assembly in September; the president announced in January 2022 government plans to draft a new constitution

legal system: mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law, and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

legislative system: unicameral National Assembly (58 seats; 53 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 5 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)

judicial system: Supreme Court of The Gambia (consists of the chief justice and 6 justices; court sessions held with 5 justices); Court of Appeal; High Court; Special Criminal Court; Khadis or Muslim courts; district tribunals; magistrates courts; cadi courts

religion: Muslim 96.4%, Christian 3.5%, other or none 0.1% (2019-20 est.)

death row: 23 (end 2017, according Amnesty International)

year of last executions: 0-0-0

death sentences: 0

executions: 0