Gambian President Yahya Jammeh rejects election result which saw him deposed by former Argos security guard
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has rejected the result of the election which saw him deposed as leader by a former Argos security guard a few weeks ago.
In an announcement on state TV, he said the electoral process had suffered “unacceptable abnormalities” and he called for a fresh vote after initially accepting the result.
“In the same way that I accepted the results faithfully believing that the Independent Electoral Commission was independent and honest and reliable, I hereby reject the results in totality,” he said in a statement broadcast on state television.
“Let me repeat: I will not accept the results based on what has happened,” he said, condemning “unacceptable errors” on the part of electoral authorities and calling for a new vote.
Mr Jammeh pointed to an accounting error, identified by the IEC, which awarded victory to his opponent Adama Barrow but with a slimmer margin than initially announced.
Mr Jammeh claimed “investigations” had revealed that numerous voters had not been able to cast their ballots.
“This is the most dubious election we ever had in the history of this country,” he said.
“We will go back to the polls because I want to make sure every Gambian votes under an electoral commission that is impartial, independent, neutral and free from foreign influence,” he said, adding that he would not tolerate any street protests over his decision.
Neighbouring Senegal immediately condemned the development, calling for a UN Security Council meeting on Gambia and urging Mr Jammeh to accept the “democratic choice, freely expressed by the Gambian people” and continue a peaceful transition of power to President-elect Adama Barrow.
The US State department called the move “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.”
“We call upon President Jammeh, who accepted the election results on December 2, to carry out an orderly transition of power to President-Elect Barrow in accordance with the Gambian constitution,” spokesman Mark Toner said.
M Barrow, 51, who spent his early years tackling shoplifters at Argos’s store on London’s Holloway Road, staged a shock victory with 43.29 percent of the vote to Mr Jammeh’s 39.64 percent.
Mr Jammeh, who styled himself “Excellency Sheikh Professor Doctor President”, had been in office since a coup 22 years ago, ruling through a cult of fear that fused witchcraft with oppression.
He claimed to have invented his own herbal cure for HIV, and once “exorcised” an entire village of 1,000 people by force-feeding them hallucinogenic potions.
On Friday Mr Jammeh, who had once vowed to rule “for a billion years if necessary”, said: “After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election.
“I lament serious and unacceptable abnormalities which have reportedly transpired during the electoral process.
“I recommend fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a god-fearing and independent electoral commission.”
Mr Barrow, a property developer, is due to take office in late January.
Mr Barrow, who is married with two wives and five children, lived in London between around 1998 and 2002, studying property management and working in a variety of security jobs.
In his job at Argos, he once tackled a shoplifter who was later jailed for six months.
