Gambians cast votes with marbles instead of ballots

Photos: Gambia's marble voting system
The unique voting system was introduced in the early 1960's to address the high level of illiteracy in the country.
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Photos: Gambia's marble voting system
Each party competing in the election has a drum painted with its own identifying colors and their party symbol.
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Photos: Gambia's marble voting system
Voters are issued a marble each, then proceed to the polling booth to vote.
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Photos: Gambia's marble voting system
This system of voting was introduced to assure transparency.
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Photos: Gambia's marble voting system
When a marble is dropped into the drum, it hits a bell which indicates a vote has just been cast. To prevent other sounds the drum has saw dust or sand inside.
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Photos: Gambia's marble voting system
The system allows counting officials quickly ascertain the number of votes cast in each drum.
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Photos: Gambia's marble voting system
More than 880,000 voters are expected to cast their ballots when this tiny west African nation goes to the polls.
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