President Jammeh openly favours one-party rule

The president's ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction took 12 of the 14 seats up for grabs in Thursday's polls.

Owing to the boycott by Ousainou Darboe's opposition United Democratic Party, the ruling party ran unopposed in 33 constituencies.

Voter turnout for the elections was much lower than for last October's presidential elections, which President Jammeh won comfortably.

Mr Darboe pulled out of last week's elections, accusing the government of rigging the vote by transferring massive numbers of voters between electoral lists of different constituencies.

Massive majority

The opposition also accuse the Mr Jammeh of fixing the presidential elections.

President Jammeh, 36, first seized power in a military coup in 1994, and has made it clear he favours one-party rule.

Mr Darboe said last week he had no doubts that a boycott was the best course of action for his party.

"The national assembly is not the only forum where political parties can make their views known and felt," he said.

"We will be helping to revitalise our democracy in this country, even if it is outside the National Assembly.

The ruling party now holds 45 seats in parliament, two smaller opposition parties won three seats between them, and President Jammeh has the power to choose the remaining five deputies himself.