The ECOWAS
Commission, the African Union Commission and the United Nations Office
for West Africa and the Sahel, (UNOWAS), have condemned Yahyah Jammeh's
rejection of last week's results of Gambian presidential election.
Jammeh, who has
ruled the tiny West African nation for 22 years, lost the election to a
property developer, Adama Barrow, who won more than 45% of the vote.
Jammeh had initially conceded defeat.
The Gambia's state
media broadcast a phone call in which President Jammeh told Barrow that
he wanted to hand over power graciously and vowed not to contest the
results of the December 1 election.
Jammeh, 51,
congratulated Barrow for his "clear victory" and praised the elections
as "transparent" and "rig-proof." He also said, "Allah is telling me my
time is up," and added he would move to his farm after leaving office in
January.
Besides, only last
week, the president was shown on state TV calling Mr Barrow to wish him
well. "You are the elected president of The Gambia, and I wish you all
the best. I have no ill will," he said at the time.
According to the
electoral commission, the revised results of the vote on December 1,
showed that Barrow won with 222,708 votes (43.34%), Jammeh came second
with 208,487 votes (39.6%) while another candidate, Mama Kandeh earned
89,768 votes (17.1%).
In rejecting the
results, Jammeh cited "abnormalities" and called for fresh elections,
saying he now rejected the results "totally." Jammeh said "serious and
unacceptable abnormalities" had been found in the electoral process and
demanded "fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a
God-fearing and independent electoral commission."
ECOWAS, AU and
UNOWAS, in a statement, called on the Gambian leader to abide by the
country's constitutional responsibilities and international obligations.
"It is fundamental
that the verdict of the ballots should be respected and that the
security of the president-elect Adama Barrow, and that of all Gambian
citizens be fully ensured," the statement said.
According to the
statement, "ECOWAS, the AU and the UN strongly support the stand of the
Senegalese Government on the issue with regards to calling an emergency
meeting of the UNSC and urge relevant Gambian stakeholders to contribute
to a peaceful transition."
The statement also
called for an orderly handing over of power from the outgoing
administration to the President-elect within constitutional deadlines,
in accordance with the Gambian electoral laws.
It urged all
Gambian stakeholders including the elected leadership, the armed forces,
political parties and Civil Society Organisations to reject violence
and peacefully uphold the will of the people as clearly expressed
through the ballot box.
They also called upon the Gambian Defence and Security forces to live up to their republican duties.
ECOWAS, the AU and
the UN stand in solidarity with the people of The Gambia whom they
commend for the maturity demonstrated throughout the electoral process
and commit to continue monitoring developments in country.
The United States and neighbouring Senegal also criticised Jammeh's position.
US State Department
spokesman Mark Toner said: "This action is a reprehensible and
unacceptable breach of faith with the people of The Gambia and an
egregious attempt to undermine a credible election process and remain in
power illegitimately."
Senegal's
government called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Senegal's Foreign Minister, Mankeur Ndiaye, speaking on national
television, urged President Jammeh to respect the election result.
The results were
revised by the country's electoral commission on 5 December, when it
emerged that the ballots for one area were added incorrectly, swelling
Mr Barrow's vote.
The error, which
also added votes to the other candidates, did not change the outcome but
narrowed Mr Barrow's margin of victory from 9% to 4%.
Mr Barrow accused
the incumbent of damaging democracy. He said yesterday that the
country's outgoing leader Jammeh had no authority to reject the results.
"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 following an emergency meeting under high security.
"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.
Mr Barrow's
spokesperson said the head of the army, General Ousman Badjie, supported
the president-elect, having pledged his allegiance after the initial
result.
The BBC's West
Africa correspondent, Thomas Fessy, says the main question now is
whether the Gambian leader has managed to split the army, retaining a
faction ready to back his announcement.
The streets of the
capital, Banjul, were reported to be calm on Friday night although
soldiers were seen placing sandbags in strategic locations across the
city, AFP news agency reports. Yesterday, some residents said they were
staying at home for fear of violence.
Under chapter 5 of
Gambia's constitution, candidates have 10 days from the declaration of
the results to appeal to the Supreme Court.
It was not immediately clear if Jammeh had done that. Mr Barrow, a property developer, is due to take office in late January.
No comments:
Post a Comment