| Election Name: | 1996 Gambian presidential election |
| Country: | The Gambia |
| Type: | presidential |
| Vote Type: | Popular |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1992 Gambian general election |
| Previous Year: | 1992 |
| Election Date: | 29 September 1996 |
| Next Election: | 2001 Gambian presidential election |
| Next Year: | 2001 |
| Registered: | 446,541 |
| Turnout: | 88.35% |
| Nominee1: | Yahya Jammeh |
| Party1: | Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction |
| Popular Vote1: | 220,011 |
| Percentage1: | 55.77% |
| Nominee2: | Ousainou Darboe |
| Party2: | United Democratic Party (The Gambia) |
| Popular Vote2: | 114,177 |
| Percentage2: | 35.84% |
| Nominee3: | Hamat Bah |
| Party3: | National Reconciliation Party |
| Popular Vote3: | 21,759 |
| Percentage3: | 5.52% |
| Map Size: | 400px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Yahya Jammeh |
| Before Party: | Military (AFPRC) |
| After Election: | Yahya Jammeh |
| After Party: | APRC |
Presidential elections were held in the Gambia on 29 September 1996. The first since the 1994 military coup led by Yahya Jammeh, they were also the first elections to be held under the new constitution, and the first presidential elections held separately from parliamentary elections. Voter turnout was exceptionally high, with 88% of the 446,541 registered voters voting.
Despite originally stating that he did not intend to run, Jammeh entered the race shortly before the elections. He emerged victorious with 55.8% of the vote, winning the most votes in every district except Mansa Konko (where UDP candidate Ousainou Darboe was the most voted-for).
The elections were criticised as unfair due to government crackdowns on journalists and opposition leaders at the time.[1] [2]
The number of invalid votes was extremely low due to the country's unique voting system of putting marbles into drums, which meant that almost no votes were rejected.