Gambia’s President Elect Adama Barrow has urged long serving leader Yahya Jammeh, who conceded defeat then reversed himself citing alleged irregularities at the polls, to accept the will of the people and the constitution of his country.
Mr. Jammeh, who had been in power for 22 years, lost the December 1 election to opposition leader Barrow. He conceded defeat after the electoral commission announced the results.
But, nearly a week after on Friday, he said the election was marred by irregularities and he was rejecting the outcome. He said new polls would be organised by an independent electoral body.
The reaction from the international community was swift. The United States, the African Union and ECOWAS all asked him to transfer power.
And on Saturday, Mr. Barrow himself said the outgoing leader had no constitutional authority to reject the results of December 1. polls and call fresh elections.
“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 told reporters.