Gambia must ensure the safety of the president-elect, whose election victory is disputed by the current head of state, West African regional bloc ECOWAS said at the end of a special summit on Saturday.
President Yahya Jammeh, who has led the country for 22 years, lost a Dec. 1 election to little-known challenger Adama Barrow and is due to step down on Jan. 18. Jammeh has called for a fresh vote and his party is challenging the result in Gambia’s Supreme Court.
West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS chairwoman, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, said on Saturday that “It’s now important that the authority at this summit considers measures to bring the matter to a successful conclusion before January 19 … when the mandate of the current President expires,” Johnson Sirleaf told the summit.
Initially, he conceded defeat but a week ago he rejected the results and called for a fresh vote in a move that was widely condemned. His party is now challenging the result in Gambia’s Supreme Court.
Johnson Sirleaf’s remarks follow a mission to Gambia this week accompanied by the leaders of several West African countries including Nigeria and Ghana, whose President John Mahama lost a Dec. 7 election and said he would step down.
Source: Reuters
