Gambia Police Require Protest Permits After Power-Cut Unrest

Police in The Gambia have announced that future protests will require approved permits after demonstrations over prolonged electricity and water outages, adding a civic-space dispute to a service crisis before the country’s December presidential election.

The protests began on September 8, 2026, in and around Banjul and the Greater Banjul area. Reuters reported that demonstrators burned tires and blocked roads as residents complained about extended blackouts. Some residents said outages lasted as long as 48 hours, although individual reports of outage duration have not been independently verified in every case. Police used tear gas to disperse crowds.

Barrow promises improvement by the end of October

In a September 8 address, President Adama Barrow acknowledged shortcomings in electricity planning, generation and maintenance. He said the government was in the final stage of installing an additional 24-megawatt generating machine at the Brikama Power Station, with commissioning planned by the end of October 2026.

Barrow also said a contract had been awarded for a 50-megawatt solar plant in Soma and announced a presidential electricity task force chaired by the vice president. The generator is nearing commissioning, according to the president’s address, while the solar plant is at an earlier project stage. Neither should be treated as operational.

Barrow said electricity supply would improve by the end of October. That deadline gives households, businesses and public services a clear point against which to judge whether supply improves, but it remains a government commitment rather than a verified result.

The official utility’s available load-shedding material provides broader operational context for the Greater Banjul and West Coast service areas. Its displayed schedule is from June 2026, however, and does not establish the precise conditions during the September protests.

Police cite damage and arrests

On September 11, police announced that future protests would require approved permits and warned that unauthorized gatherings could be met with force. The announcement followed authorities’ reports of damage to a police post and facilities belonging to the National Water and Electricity Company, or NAWEC.

Police said 11 people had been arrested. Those claims, as well as the accounts of damage and any subsequent releases, should be understood as statements from authorities unless independently confirmed. The permit requirement is an announcement by the police chief, not evidence by itself of a formal nationwide legal ban on protests.

Reuters’ reporting on September 8 documented the demonstrations, reported tire-burning and road blockades, and the police use of tear gas. AFP separately reported on the public anger over blackouts and the government’s proposed power measures. The reports provide independent context for the sequence of protests and the government response.

Election timing raises the stakes

The Independent Electoral Commission’s official calendar sets the presidential election for December 5, 2026. The formal campaign period is scheduled to run from November 10 through December 3.

That timetable links electricity reliability and protest policing directly to the election period. Service delivery is a visible test of the government’s performance, while the permit requirement could affect how residents, opposition groups and civil-society organizations organize demonstrations before voting begins.

The immediate questions are whether generation and maintenance problems ease by the end-of-October deadline, how widely the permit requirement is enforced and whether political groups can campaign and protest without disproportionate restrictions. For voters, the issue is no longer only whether the lights stay on. It is also how the government responds when public frustration becomes organized political pressure.

Key sources

• Office of the President of The Gambia: Electricity Supply Address, September 8, 2026
• Independent Electoral Commission: Electoral Calendar 2026–2027
• Reuters: Gambia protests and police permit requirement
• Reuters: Gambia protesters burn tires over power cuts