1947 Gambian legislative election

An election for the one elected seat on the Legislative Council was held in the Gambia in 1947. It was the first time that the Council had had a directly elected representative.[1]

Background

In 1946 the Legislative Council was reorganised and increased in size from 11 to 14 members. It would consist of three ex-officio members, three officials, six appointees and one elected member.[2]

Results

The seat was won by Edward Francis Small,[3] the founder of the Gambia Labour Union, who defeated Ibrahima Garba-Jahumpa (who later founded the Muslim Congress Party) and Sheikh Omar Fye.[4]

Candidate		Votes	%
	Edward Francis Small	1,491	46.67
	Sheikh Omar Fye	1,018	31.86
	Ibrahima Momodou Garba-Jahumpa	679	21.25
	John Finden Dailey	4	0.13
	Richard Rendall	3	0.09
Total		3,195	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		5,580	–
Source: Hughes & Perfect[5]

References

1. Hughes, A. & Perfect, D. (1989) "Trade Unionism in the Gambia" African Affairs Vol. 88, No. 353 pp. 549-572
2. Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Erster Halbband, pp731–732
3. Gambia: On the Road to Independence FOROYAA, 27 February 2007
4. History of the Independence Movement Archived 2016-12-27 at the Wayback Machine Gambia Information Site
5. Arnold Hughes & David Perfect (2006) A political history of the Gambia, 1816–1994, University of Rochester Press, pp115–298