- To tell Yahya Jammeh to accept his defeat
- Opposition Coalition call on Jammeh to step down immediately
Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow said he was concerned for his safety in Banjul on Monday (December 12), days after President Jammeh said he did not recognise the election results.
Jammeh had conceded defeat after Gambia electoral body declared the opposition candidate, Barrow, the winner of the presidential election.
Jammeh had conceded defeat after Gambia electoral body declared the opposition candidate, Barrow, the winner of the presidential election.
He added that Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will lead a mission to Gambia on Tuesday (December 13) to mediate in a crisis brought on by the long-ruling Jammeh’s refusal to step down.
Senegal issued a statement on Monday saying Heads of state from Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana will travel to Gambia on Tuesday to tell Yahya Jammeh to accept his defeat.
Jammeh had quickly conceded defeat to Barrow after a presidential election on Dec. 1, but in an about-face on Friday (December 9) that drew international condemnation, he denounced the results.
He plans to contest the result at the Supreme Court, raising the prospect that a shock opposition victory that was poised to end 22 years of autocratic rule will be overturned.
The United Nations will hold a meeting on Gambia behind closed doors on Monday.
Barrow said Jammeh had made a mistake when he made the statement on state television that the delegation would advise him to that effect.
A statement from the opposition coalition read to reporters in Barrow’s presence on Monday called for Jammeh to step down immediately.
Before his surprise change of mind, he had pledged to hand over power to Barrow in January following the transitional period dictated by Gambian law.
However, Gambia has no sitting Supreme Court. In order to hear Jammeh’s complaint, legal experts believe at least four judges must be hired.
TVC