Gambia’s Prolonged Blackouts Ignite Protests as President Barrow Seeks Third Term

The Gambia has been gripped by violent protests since Monday night over chronic electricity blackouts, with demonstrators in Banjul, Kanifing, Brikama, and Brufut burning tyres, blocking roads and demanding the resignation of President Adama Barrow, who is seeking a third term in the country’s December 2026 presidential election.

The unrest follows months of worsening power cuts, some lasting up to 48 hours, pushing  public anger to a  tipping point, provoking a response from the police who fired tear gas near Barrow’s residence and the headquarters of the National Water and Electricity Corporation (NAWEC). This is an important issue because this protest has turned a basic services crisis into an election problem, as Barrow, who first won power in 2016 on a promise to serve only one term, is now asking Gambians to trust him with a mandate he once said he would never seek.

The blackouts have persisted since June 2026, worsening as soaring temperatures during the hot season drove up demand. At peak consumption this year, electricity demand rose to 140 megawatts, according to NAWEC. The utility’s chief, Gallo Saidy, appealed for patience, explaining that reduced electricity imports from the regional grid, partly due to lower rainfall this year, contributed to the shortages, since the country supplements its own generation with imports from Guinea and Senegal.

President Barrow has responded by declaring the crisis a national emergency, and pledges to commission a new generating unit by the end of October 2026, describing it as considerable power for a system of Gambia’s size. He also announced plans for a further 50-megawatt solar power plant, with the contract for the Soma facility already awarded. However, this response has not soothed public anger.

The  unrest cannot be separated from the political calendar. Barrow’s decision to seek a third term has caused considerable turmoil given that he built his 2016 candidacy against Yahya Jammeh on promises of democratic reform, including serving only one term and pushing constitutional change to introduce presidential term limits. He won a second term in 2021 regardless. A 2020 draft constitution containing a retroactive two-term limit, which would have barred Barrow from running again, was rejected by lawmakers allied to him; a revised draft without that clause was drawn up four years later but was itself voted down in 2025, leaving the original 1997 constitution, and Barrow’s path to a third term, intact.

Despite the discontent visible on the streets, Barrow is widely expected to win the 2026 vote at this stage, since the opposition has yet to pull together a winning coalition. With nominations running from late October into early November, the coming weeks will show whether the promised power fixes materialise and the frustration in Banjul translates into a genuine electoral threat, or whether a divided opposition once again gives Barrow the advantage.