Gambia’s presidentelect says Jammeh cannot reject polls

Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow said yesterday that outgoing leader Yahya Jammeh had no authority to reject the results of the December 1 election, while the United Nations and African Union piled pressure on Jammeh to step aside.

Long-ruling Jammeh had conceded defeat publicly last week after his narrow loss to opposition leader Barrow.

But on Friday he called for another election in the tiny West African country, jeopardizing what was expected to be Gambia’s first democratic transition of power in more than 50 years.

The announcement on state television threw the future of the country of 1.8 million into doubt. The surprise election result that ended Jammeh’s authoritarian 22-year rule had been widely seen as a moment of democratic hope and a chance to end repression in a country known as a police state.

“The outgoing president has no constitutional authority to reject the result of the election and order for fresh elections to be held,” Barrow told reporters in Banjul.

“I open up a channel of communication to convince him to facilitate a smooth transfer of executive powers in the supreme interest of this country,” he said.

Outside Barrow’s house, which over the last week had become a gathering point for revelers, about 20 people sitting on plastic chairs said they had volunteered to provide security. None were armed. “The way Jammeh is speaking it sounds threatening,” said one volunteer, Jadama Ibrahim, wearing tracksuit bottoms and slippers. “He (Barrow) was relocated twice. We are concerned about his safety.”

The streets of Banjul were calm yesterday with a strong police presence.

International criticism of Jammeh came in fast. Following the United States and Senegal, the African Union yesterday weighed in, calling Jammeh’s statement “null and void”. The European Union has also called for a peaceful transfer of power.