Gambia’s President Barrow is re-elected in a post-Jammeh polls

Key takeaways:

• President Adama Barrow was re-elected with a comfortable margin over his opponent in a poll that set the stage for a new chapter.
• Barrow was elected in 2016 as the candidate of an opposition coalition that put Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship to the test. 

Gambia’s President Adama Barrow was re-elected with a comfortable margin over his opponent in a poll that set the scene for a fresh chapter in the small West African country’s democracy.

According to Independent Poll Commission figures released on Sunday, Barrow received around 53% of Saturday’s election. He handily defeated his biggest rival, Ousainou Darboe of the United Democratic Party, who earned around 28% of the vote.

This was the country’s first presidential election in decades without former dictator Yahya Jammeh, who is currently living in exile in Equatorial Guinea after losing the 2016 election and refusing to recognize defeat.

The IEC Chairman, Alieu Mommar Njie, announced the results and prayed for peace in the 2.4 million-person nation.

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“I thus pronounce Adama Barrow duly elected to serve as President of the Republic of The Gambia,” he declared, noting that the National People’s Party (NPP) won with 457,519 votes cast.

Darboe of the United Democratic Party received 238,233 votes, while Mama Kandeh of the Gambia Moral Congress received 105,902 votes, according to IEC data.

Demba Sabally, the NPP’s representative at Election House, stated that the presidential election was transparent and fair.

“The Gambia has won this election,” he added.

The results, however, have already been challenged by four opposition leaders, including Darboe and Kandeh, who held a press conference on Sunday to question the legitimacy of the poll. According to a joint statement, the parties were concerned about an “excessive wait” in announcing the findings.

Banka Manneh, a campaigner, told The Associated Press that he would not deprive opposition leaders of the opportunity to protest. However, he continued, “They must produce evidence to back up their assertions. The courts exist to resolve disputes.”

Thousands of people flocked to the Westfield Youth Monument in Serrekunda to celebrate Barrow’s reelection.

“President Barrow is a peacemaker. We must provide him the opportunity to continue his development projects, “According to Modou Ceesay, 36, a resident of New Jeshwang.

According to Fatou Faal of Kanifing, Gambians did the “right thing” by allowing Barrow an opportunity to complete the development projects he began.

On Saturday, about 860,000 Gambians cast ballots, demonstrating the determination of many to exercise their democratic rights in the post-Jammeh period.

Barrow was elected in 2016 as the candidate of an opposition coalition that put Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship to the test. After agreeing to stand down, Jammeh refused, resulting in a six-week crisis in which neighboring West African countries prepared to deploy troops to launch a military intervention. Jammeh was compelled to flee.

Jammeh’s two-decade leadership was defined by arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and summary killings, as revealed by dramatic evidence during years-long Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission hearings.

The commission recently handed up its 17-volume report to President Barrow, urging him to ensure that perpetrators of human rights breaches face prosecution.

Barrow has committed to fighting for the victims’ rights.

Source: CTV News

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