Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the president of Mauritania, which is not a member of ECOWAS, flew directly to Senegal to speak with the country’s leader, Macky Sall, after an effort to hold talks in Gambia.
Advertisement
Jammeh initially accepted the results of the December 1 national elections, which revealed a victory for opposition leader Barrow.
However, Gambia’s President-elect, Adama Barrow on Thursday took to twitter to announce that he will be sworn into office at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.
Gambians who had heard the news were hesitant to celebrate, given Jammeh’s history of erratic behavior.
Jammeh, who has ruled the former British colony for 22 years, initially acknowledged Barrow as the victor in last month’s elections, but later rejected the result, this week declaring a national state of emergency.
But a peaceful transition of power now looks increasingly likely since Mr. Badjie acknowledged Barrow’s legitimacy as the nation’s new president and commander-in-chief.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the process.
Jammeh was left isolated after his term expired at midnight Wednesday and a last ditch overnight diplomatic effort failed to budge him. He is scheduled to depart Gambia today.
This follows the refusal of Yahya Jammeh to concede defeat and hand over power to him. According to him, Jammeh is “currently writing the statement where he accepts to leave, in the presence of Guinean officials”.
The red carpets are laid out for a wooden podium and for the Mauritanian plane that brought the leaders to Banjul.
A crowd gathers outside the Gambian embassy in Dakar, Senegal, for the inauguration of Gambian President-elect Adama Barrow on January 19. “We have woken up to a new day in Gambia”, says Sallah, speaking via telephone from the capital Banjul. Gambia’s president, whether he likes it or not, whether he stays on or not, is now in the eyes of his country’s neighbours and the world community, illegitimate, an ex-president.
Barrow has been in Senegal for several days at the request of West African leaders until his planned inauguration.
The Liberian Information Minister maintains that Barrow’s inauguration would go ahead on Thursday, despite Jammeh’s earlier claim that he is not going to step down.
Advertisement
Barrow’s taking office could be hugely significant for the advancement of human rights in Gambia. Barrow is in neighboring Senegal, where he was inaugurated Thursday.
