Political Activity & Public Life
The constitutional boundaries on political participation for Gambian civil servants — what you can and cannot do regarding political parties, elections, public demonstrations, and holding political office, and the consequences of crossing those boundaries.
GO 03104 establishes the fundamental balance: officers are entitled to hold their own political views and to vote in any election for which they are qualified. They may join a political party. However, they must not hold political office, accept a political position or candidature, make public speeches in support of any political party, join public political demonstrations, or publicly indicate support for any political party or policy. GO 03105 addresses ambiguity — if an officer is uncertain whether an organisation with both political and non-political objectives counts as a 'political organisation,' they should seek advice from the Public Service Commission before joining or participating. GO 03106 is particularly important: if an officer who has been granted leave of absence is elected to Political Office during that leave, they must immediately resign or retire from the Public Service — failing to do so results in removal from office. This reflects The Gambia's constitutional principle that the civil service must remain politically neutral to serve any government of the day impartially.
Section 4.1.6 of the Code of Conduct mirrors the General Orders: civil servants may hold political views and vote, but must not hold office in political parties or publicly demonstrate support for any political party. Section 4.3.7 extends this to the workplace — officers must refrain from indulging in party political activities whilst performing duties. Under Section 6.1.2 (Misconduct), taking an active part in political activity that is inconsistent with or reflects adversely upon the required independence and impartiality of public servants is a disciplinary offence. The underlying principle (Section 4.1.3) is that civil servants must loyally execute the policies of the Government of the day as contained in statutes and laws — this requires political neutrality so that the service can function regardless of which party holds power.