Incoming President Barrow responds to outgoing President Jammeh over remarks on state TV
Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow has condemned the remarks made on state TV by the outgoing President Yahya Jammeh during his meeting with the so-called Africa Bar Association.
Speaking on behalf of president-elect at a Press Conference on Friday, Halifa Sallah, spokesperson and member of the coalition team said the remarks of outgoing President Jammeh were unconstitutional and misleading.
“President Jammeh’s remarks were unconstitutional and it is misleading to put to the public that president-elect Barrow’s victory is suspended,” Sallah said.
He also stressed that the petition by Jammeh and his ruling APRC at the Supreme Court has no bearing on the preparation for President-elect Barrow to assume office in January, stating that every loser has rights to make claims at the courts but would not change the outcome of the results. He made it clear that Outgoing President Jammeh has no powers to annul the results, call for election or dissolving the IEC.
“The term of office of outgoing President Jammeh expires one second after midnight on the 19th January, 2016,” he stressed, and further welcomed the lead role of ECOWAS in mediating the political impasse.
Below is he full statement;
STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE INCOMING PRESIDENT ON THE PRONOUNCEMENT OF THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT – 22nd December 2016
The remarks from the Outgoing President, broadcast over GRTS, which were made during talks with representatives of the Africa Bar Association, who are on a Fact Finding Mission, deserve a response from the office of the Incoming President.
It is important for the Gambian people, in particular, and the world, at large, to understand the political situation in the country.
Currently, there is an Incoming and an Outgoing President. This is a Constitutional and political fact that should be a primary focus for all Fact Finding Missions, in particular, and the Public, at large. The visitors and the Gambian people must never draw any conclusion unless they hear from both administrations and then separate the grain from the chaff.
The Outgoing President‘s pronouncement tends to give the impression that he is not an Outgoing President. It gives the wrong notion that the Outgoing President will continue to have grip on power after the expiration of his five year term in January .It makes some people to believe that the Incoming President has no mandate to prepare for his inauguration because an Election Petition has been filed by the party of the loser.
The Incoming President wants to make it very clear that the Petition of the APRC candidate, who has lost the 1st December 2016 Elections, has no bearing on the Preparation being made for him to assume office in January. Every loser in an Election contest has the right to go to court to find redress to any grievance.
However, such an action does not deprive the winner the right to take over a Government when one is constitutionally mandated to do so. It should be clear to the public that while the loser has every right to make claims and indicate the Court actions it is taking to get a Court decision it is contrary to the spirit and letter of the Constitution to give the impression that the victory of the winner is suspended and his entitlement to prepare to be inaugurated put on hold by an Election petition.
It is prejudicial to argue the merit of an Election Petition in the media. This is why the Incoming President has requested for the Court case to be considered as the exercise of right by a private citizen to seek redress in the Courts and not a State matter affecting the mandatory transfer of Executive power as dictated by the Constitution.
The Incoming President is committed to the Principles of Electoral jurisprudence, the Independence and impartiality of the judiciary and the rights of aggrieved citizens to seek redress in Courts and would not wish to make any comments that would be prejudicial to the exercise of such rights.
In the same vein, he calls on all responsible authorities to reciprocate by not making any utterances which impinges on his rights to enjoy the status of a President Elect as guaranteed in all civilized countries and prepare for his Inauguration as constitutionally guaranteed.
The Incoming President wants it to be known without any shadow of a doubt that he has the Constitutional mandate to prepare to assume Office in January 2017.
The Facts are as follows:
Section 63 Sub-section 1 of the Constitution states that the term of Office of an Elected President shall be for a term of five years beginning when a person takes oath of office.
Outgoing President Jammeh took Office on 19 January 2012. His Five year term expires in January 2017. Anybody could do the arithmetic for one’s self.
Section 46 of the Constitution instructs that there shall be an Election to the Office of President in the three Months before the expiration of the term of the incumbent.
This is why Elections were held on 1st December 2016 before the expiration of the January 2012 to January 2017 mandate of Outgoing President Jammeh.
Section 41 of the Constitution empowers the IEC to conduct Elections and to declare results under Section 81 of the Elections Act. This has happened. President Elect Barrow is declared the winner.
Assumption of Office
According to Section 63 Sub-Section 2 of the Constitution “The person declared elected as President shall take the prescribed oaths and assume office on the day the term of office of the incumbent President expires”.
This is the law of the land. It is President Elect Adama Barrow who is declared elected. It is mandatory for him to take the prescribed oath of Office and assume office on the day the term of office of President Jammeh expires in accordance with the letter and spirit of Section 63 Subsection 2 of the Constitution. This Swearing in ceremony is what is referred to as an Inauguration ceremony.
The Date of Inauguration of the President Elect
President Jammeh is to serve for five years starting from 19th January 2012 when he took Oath of Office. According to Section 2 of the Interpretation Act a Year in Law means 12 months as reckoned under The British Calendar adopted in 1752 as the Gregorian calendar which took into account the orbit of the earth taking 365⅟4 days. Hence the concept of a leap year was introduced in every four years.
According to the law of the land the calendar year is the 12 months of the year starting in January with 31 days and ending in December with 31 days. Hence the calendar year has 365 days in a normal year and 366 days in a leap year.
In computation of time, according to the Interpretation Act, the counting of the days starts on the following day. Hence from the 19th to the twentieth is one day, from the 19th to the 21st is two days, etc. In a similar vein from 19th January to 19th February is one month, from 19th January to 19th March is two months, etc. Likewise from 19th January 2012 to 19th January 2013 is one year, to 19th January 2014 two years, to 19th January 2017 five years.
Thus the term of office of President Jammeh should expire starting one second after midnight and goes up to midnight of 19th January 2017 Hence President Elect Barrow could take Oath and assume Office any time up to midnight of 19th January 2017.
ECOWAS is acting according to the Constitution of The Gambia
When the four Heads of State of ECOWAS came for a Fact Finding Mission they gathered that President Elect Adama Barrow was declared winner by the Independent Electoral Commission as required by the law of the land. They were also given the constitutional facts that the elected President should assume office on the day of expiration of the term of office of the incumbent which is 19th January 2017.
This is why they said that they will grace the occasion in their numbers. In making that declaration they are in no way implying that they intend to interfere with the internal affairs of the country, on the contrary, they are perfectly in concert with the letter and spirit of the Gambian Constitution. This is how matters stand.
Hence President Elect Barrow is an Incoming President who has the Constitutional right to assume office on the 19th January 2016.
The Pronouncements of the Outgoing President
The original position of the Outgoing President in accepting the results and opening a line of communication for a smooth transfer of Executive Power did go down well with everyone and was the best way of protecting National Sovereignty and allowing Gambians to manage their own affairs with the support of the friends of the Country.
On the other hand, the unilateral and unconstitutional declaration of annulment of the results, expulsion of the IEC and announcement of another Election gave rise to National and International expression of outrage and a call for the Outgoing President to step down.
Realising that the seed of conflict was being shown by the untimely announcement the Incoming President who does not wish to preside over a torn and tattered country and a divided warring people exposed the unconstitutional declaration of the Outgoing President and reminded the people that he is the Incoming President who recognizes and respects the mandate of the Outgoing President and is also preparing for his Inauguration in January which should also be recognized and respected by the incumbent. Hence the stage was reset for The Incoming and Outgoing Presidents to show respect for the constitution and ensure that constitutional processes prevail in the supreme interest of the country.
The avalanche of condemnations may have influenced the APRC to resort to constitutional processes to find redress. It was later announced that they would seek redress from the Courts as provided by Section 49 of the Constitution which states: “Any registered political party which has participated in the Presidential Election may apply to the Supreme Court to determine the validity of the election of a President by filing a Petition within ten days of the declaration of the result of the Election”.
The Incoming President has no intention to interfere with the Constitutional process of seeking redress by Election Petition. The Outgoing President should not interfere with the Constitutional process of Swearing in an Elected President when the term of the incumbent expires as well as his entitlements as President Elect before assuming office. Queries touching on the issue of prosecuting the Outgoing President have featured prominently in the Public domain.
The Incoming President has made it clear in his interviews that he will never be a prosecutor or a judge and has no intention to preside over a country where there will be revenge for past injustices. He has promised to treat the Outgoing President as a Former President whom he would consult in his area of competence and would invite both he and Former President Jawara to his inauguration as the First and Second Presidents of the Republic.
He would like it to be known that justice in a transitional administration must be tempered with mercy to avoid a cycle of revenge in a country where governments may come and go.
The intention of the Coalition is to give Gambia a new start. Hence principal among its commitment is the preparation to uphold and protect the equality of all citizens before the law. The Coalition is duty bound not to presume the indictment or guilt of any individual before or after the Incoming President assumes office. All members of the Coalition leadership are asked to respect the principal of separation of powers.
Finally, all are committed to the principle of substantive and reconciliatory justice by setting up a truth and reconciliation Commission whenever indictments for past injustices arise in the Third Republic.
In the interest of Nation Unity and International integrity the Outgoing President is being requested to open up a line of communication for Gambians to take charge of our own affairs and ensure a peaceful transfer of power. If we fail to do so others will take charge of our own affairs to our shame as a sovereign people.
ECOWAS is also called upon to send its mediators with immediacy so that talks will begin to ensure a Gambian consensus in solving our problems through the friendly facilitation of the Sub-region.
The Gambia is going through a phase of its history that has never been known. This country has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of Executive power through the ballot box. Hence all Gambians should leave matters with the President Elect and his team to demonstrate the maturity, magnanimity, loves of people and tolerance of diversity necessary to see the country through its most trying time.
All should remain ever true to the Gambia so that all our people will live united in peace and prosperity for now and forever.
The End
An open letter to Gambian voters!
For 22 years, Gambians were forced into a nightmarish marathon. Along the way many were tortured, maimed, killed and disappeared. Many made sacrifices that stripped them of their freedom and paid the ultimate price – but they had no regrets.
Many were humiliated and chastised by the enemy but they kept going, keeping an eye on the prize. Many children were orphaned and many spouses widowed, but they fought on to keep the memories of their loved ones alive. Many political prisoners were jailed, some tortured into a coma because Yahya Jammeh wanted to silence the opposition and show Gambians who is boss – this became his biggest blunder because instead of being intimidated, they pushed back and formed Coalition 2016.
Many were chased out of Gambia for speaking the truth, but they fought even harder. Many felt guilty for abandoning their families because of the time expended in this fight, but their families understood – they could see HOPE from a distance and knew VICTORY was a certainty. Whoever said Gambians are not resilient?
ALAS! Freedom knocked on our doors this year and Gambians young and old, stood up and said ENOUGH! Knowing this is A FIGHT NO ONE CAN WIN FOR US, the political parties formed a coalition, which triggered a chain reaction across the globe:
- Gambians raised funds and oiled the machine that took Coalition 2016 to promote their candidate/platform nationwide and Gambians turned out in droves. Historically, many democracy movements are funded by the international community but in our case, we said NO NO NO – WE GOT THIS!
- Coalition 2016, led by seasoned elders of Gambian society, studied Jammeh’s shenanigans and quietly closed the doors to the IEC in his face. Alhajie Alieu Momar Njai, holding those keys, said “Not In My Name” to Yahya.
- Then the voters came in! With all our monies, strategies, planning, THE FINAL SAY was in the hands of those with their ballots on December 1st, 2016. The faith of our freedom, democracy, peace, was in their hands! If they had betrayed Gambians, only God knows how the likes of me would have felt.
Thus, I MUST TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY AND THANK THE GAMBIAN VOTERS for finishing this marathon with the most historic win – ousting a Dictator through the ballot box.
This is something that continues to shock many international news mediums and commentators and THIS TIME, GAMBIA IS MAKING THE NEWS FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS!
Abara, Jeurejeff, Ajaarama, #ThankYouGambianVoters
By Tukulorr Sey
Mayor of Gambia’s capital meets President-elect Barrow
The Lord Mayor of the Gambia’s capital, Banjul, on Friday met President-elect Adama Barrow at the Kairaba Beach Hotel.
Abdoulie Bah, who contested for the mayoral position under an independent ticket is showing support and solidarity with the president-elect and congratulated him for the crucial victory.
Speaking to journalist shortly after meeting President-elect Barrow, Mayor Bah said he came to assure the support of the capital city to the new leader. He said he is acting in his capacity as an independent Mayor who came to meet the independent Coalition president-elect.
“I came to assure to him that all Banjul and Gambians are behind him because the will of the people is the will of God,” Mayor Bah said.
The Mayor of Banjul said his discussion with the newly elected president was centered on peace and stability. He emphasised the need for peace to prevail in the country and called for the outgoing president Jammeh and president-elect Barrow to meet and pave a way for lasting peace.
“The president has already accepted the results since day two when the results where declared. Its therefore important for the two leaders to meet for the interest of all Gambians,” he said.
Why is Parliament silent on the Political Crisis gripping the nation?
I write with a deep sense of regret as to the attitude of the National Assembly in Banjul. For the record – The legislative branch is tasked with the sacred “Truth” of enacting laws on behalf of all Gambians, and of executive oversight by upholding the President and his Cabinet accountable for the decisions therein, amongst others. Simply put, that body, the Parliament, historically came into being, purposeful, sanctified, with a remit to preserve democracy.
Indeed, if the occupants of that chamber are true representatives of “The Gambian People” as they have led us to believe; and as prescribed in their portfolios, then why the wait. To put it plain, how long are Gambian MP’s prepared to sit there before condemning the tyrannical actions embarked on by Yahya Jammeh? His actions are unconstitutional, and therefore, illegal under law. His behaviour is undemocratic, and damn right shameful. The tension in Banjul is palpable, as uncertainty exacerbates. The dictator’s 360 degrees U-turn is tantamount to treason, further embroiling the good-Gambia image into a tabloid media-circus.
Members of the National Assembly – as international concern over the situation in Banjul escalate, the Opposition-Coalition sprung to a well-deserved victory in an election described as “free and fair” and “rig-proof” by Jammeh himself. The turn of events thereafter, by reneging on concession, and not following through with the “Transition Process” to the President-elect and his team; has fallen foul of the constitution breaching all civilized norms of the democratic process along the way.
I had expected the “National Assembly” to come out in no uncertain terms and to condemn his behaviour. The Gambian people expect their representatives to lead such condemnation in forceful terms. No wonder then the “rubber-stamped” Parliament scores very low in public confidence ratings year on year.
Elected (sic) members of Parliament – grow a moral backbone and disown Yahya Jammeh immediately. The APRC regime is, but a ship with holes sailing across the high seas. As for Jammeh, his like is akin to a roaring lion with no teeth, resorting to scare tactics. Have no fear, and nor should you despair – those with sense are free to relate!
The wind of change blowing across the land is UNSTOPPABLE! And as Jammeh begins to pack bags to “Lonely-ville” in the dying days of APRC (mis)rule, Save yourselves and jump ship – to be on the RIGHT-SIDE of safety, and of HISTORY.
Many-a-night, I’d wondered the footsteps of gallant soldiers marching across Independence drive towards a national cause at the birth of a “Republic”. On that faithful day in 1970, Banjul became the shining city on an island that captivates, romanticized in folk songs from Dakar, to Bamako, in Mali. As a plea on behalf of Gambians worldwide, i sincerely call on Member of the National Assembly to disown Yahya Jammeh, and begin criminal proceedings on charges of high-crimes against the state – beginning TONIGHT!
By Gibril Saine
Breaking the impasse
President-Elect Barrow and his team should continue to be on alert and make their paramount mission the preservation of their hard-fought and historic victory against the Jammeh regime. It is no minor feat that the Coalition was able to orchestrate a clear victory at the ballot-box, against the long odds. And peace-loving people throughout the world should applaud their efforts and encourage them. But their work is not done.
One can even argue that what is left is perhaps even harder and more critical. But I find solaceinthefactthatMr.Barrowandhiscolleaguesaremakingalltherightmoves. They were very astute in their reading of Jammeh’s illegal pronouncements on December 9, 2016, regarding the status of the December 1, 2016 election.
Gambians, including Jammeh supporters, should feel very grateful that we were able to dodge a bullet. Had Mr. Barrow behaved like any other uninspired person, we would be in a state of war right now, God forbid. The reason being, most people in Mr. Barrow’s position, after hearing Jammeh’s failed attempt to annul the election, would have felt anger and lash out at Jammeh, thereby giving him an excuse to inflame the country.
But cooler heads prevailed, and the maturity shown by the Coalition saved the country from what could have been a great disaster.
The Gambia Bar Association is spot-on in its analysis pointing out that Jammeh’s pronouncement on December 9, 2016 is tantamount to treason. They took his own words at face-value and to their logical conclusion. If we have a constitutionally elected president (Mr. Barrow in this case), anyone who tries to undo that election outside the bounds of the laws of the country, is dangerously flirting with treason, in my opinion. I believe the Coalition also read the situation in the same way. The UN Security Council also saw through Jammeh’s betrayal of the Gambian people; which is why they called upon Jammeh to resign forthwith because he had forfeited his right to lead. But the Coalition leaders were measured in their statements and did not call out the potentially criminal conduct. They just pointed out that Jammeh had no authority to annul the election and counseled their supporters to focus on going ahead with their transition plans.
Realizing his catastrophic blunder and knowing that the days when he could use force to usurp power are over, he asked his party to file a petition to try and annul the will of the Gambian people, which was expressed through an election he organized by himself. In other words, he tried to usurp power through unconstitutional means (by his treasonous pronouncement on national TV) and that failed. Now he wants to stage a constitutional coup. Gambians should not stand for that either. A coup is a coup.
Gambians have spoken and he wants to overturn that. We should not accept a coup if he wants to use the army to overturn the will of the people; neither should we accept it if he wants to use the courts to achieve that goal.
Thankfully, every fair-minded person in this world sees through what Jammeh is trying to do and has condemned it, for the most part. I have always known that Jammeh and his cohorts are the most selfish people one can encounter. But I must admit that I never thought that they were this conniving and unpatriotic. I am so scared for our country and we should all be. Everybody knows what the endgame is here. Jammeh should leave. He is done. The question is: how will he leave? He’s chosen that he is going to leave violently, which is why he decided to first send his family to the safe confines of the United States before setting the country on fire. That move, clearly backfired. But let’s just pause for a moment and think about this. To me, this is one of the most disgusting aspects of this saga.
Here, we have someone who is always roiling against the so-called West, and when rubber meets the road, he sends his family to the United States. And because he cannot run away, he digs in and puts our families in jeopardy. Even if an outside force were to come to the country and arrest him, at the very least some Gambian might lose his or her life unnecessarily. And even if it is a single Gambian, it will be one too many. That does not even speak to the anxiety people are under as we speak, the time the new government is losing instead of preparing to take over, and what it’s going to cost the neighboring countries to come to Gambia, to our aid.
Thank God that there is still hope that Gambians can resolve this matter, without the need for bloodshed. First, under no circumstances should the Coalition go to court with Jammeh. Thankfully, his petition is so inadequate that any respectable court would have thrown it out the minute it was submitted. Again, he should not be allowed to stage a constitutional coup by using corrupt foreign judges to overturn the supreme will of the Gambian people. At the risk of sounding xenophobic, I must lament here the despicable behavior of foreign judges in the country and their Gambian enablers like Jammeh and his Attorney General. This should not be tolerated.
Jammeh’s gripes about the election are beyond ridiculous. If we were not dealing with a life and death situation I would say that his complaints are laughable. I mean, how can he say that we need a redo because 300,000 registered voters did not vote on their own volition? Did anyone forcefully prevent those voters from voting? Is voting compulsory in The Gambia? Is there an acceptable number of non-voters that will render elections credible? Ironically, in the 2006 elections, an equivalent number of registered voters did not vote and yet he did not criticize those results. This whole point is as ridiculous as the Coalition also arguing that Mr. Barrow would have won by a larger margin had Gambians in the Diaspora been allowed to vote in the election. No serious court would listen to that. As for the other stuff, I do not know any Gambian who is gullible enough to believe that Jammeh’s hand-picked IEC would collude with the Coalition to suppress Jammeh’s voters. Give me a break. It is sad to watch the spectacle on TV where Jammeh reads the letter from the IEC Chairman rectifying the result tally.
Can someone please explain to Jammeh that the letter is not a legal ground for overturning the election? On the contrary, the letter is evidence that the system works. Human beings make mistakes. And they rectify the mistakes. This mistake could have been as simple as a typo adding an extra zero to the numbers. If the IEC did not catch the mistake and rectify it, that could have created a problem. But the mere fact that they rectified the mistake, knowing that it has no impact on the final outcome, in the interest of transparency and accountability, lends credibility to the IEC. Simply put, the petition has no legs to stand on and should not be entertained. Again, the Coalition is doing the right thing by ignoring the made-up issues in the purported petition.
It is so defective on its face that the courts should not even waste resources entertaining it. To bring judges all the way from Nigeria to steal the election from the Gambian people, based on frivolous grounds, is not only a gross waste of resources, but very insulting as well. Anyone who has ever been involved in election petitions, like I was in 1992, would know that one has to overcome a very high burden of proof in order to upset the supreme will of the people. Not only would Jammeh and his cohorts have to prove major irregularities during the election process, they also have to prove that but for those irregularities we will have a different outcome. Jammeh’s purported complaints do not even come close.
Add to that fundamental deficiency, an illegitimately packed court that has no business entertaining the petition. But everyone in the country knows that the foreign judges we have in there are not interested in justice and will not hesitate to thwart the will of the Gambian people. I hear Jammeh talk about not wanting to be colonized by the British and brag about his patriotism. But it’s not a problem for him to bring unscrupulous foreign judges to the country to enslave Gambians. This is just pathetic.
In any case, the solution I alluded to earlier on is in the hands of Jammeh’s supporters, be they in the armed forces or in his inner circle feeding him bogus grounds for challenging the election. To break this impasse, short of having an invading force, they should withdraw their support; and under no circumstances should they obey orders from him that he has no moral or constitutional authority to give. A lot of his supporters (mainly outside the country) have begun withdrawing their support. I am begging and urging his inner circle to give it up. Jammeh by himself is nobody and he knows it. How sinister can one be to send one’s family out of the country, promote soldiers so one can use them to murder innocent Gambians, and then hold the country hostage? Let us wake up. Our families are in serious jeopardy. As the saying goes, when the rain falls, it doesn’t fall on one man’s house.
It is understandable that some who were on the Jammeh gravy-train might be experiencing separation anxiety, fear and want to cling to power. Give it up. Some of us did that 22 years ago and we are stronger for it. You are in a lot better position in that Mr. Barrow (whom I do not know) does not seem to be a vindictive person; and in fact appears to be very God-fearing, measured and reasonable.
Others in the Coalition leadership are also very mature statesmen who believe in the rule of law and will not unjustly persecute Jammeh loyalists. The Coalition should continue to convey this message. They are not after revenge. Even the Gambian people, like me, will not stand for that. Besides, Gambia is also under the microscope. With the international community focused on it, the new government would be unwise to go after the Jammeh people in a vindictive manner. I am sure the Coalition leadership knows that. So, there is an alternative to engaging in a suicide pact with Jammeh. For the sake of our country and our families, let us not plunge our dear country into a civil war simply because a few in our midst do not want to relinquish power. If Jammeh was the patriot he claims to be, he will give up for the sake of peace even if he was robbed in the election. But we all know that he was defeated fairly. Any Gambian with a conscience should ask him to leave. If he had a fraction of the piety he claims he has, he would have realized that God does not engage in double- speak: if he won the election, The Almighty would not say that Jammeh lost.
Maintaining peace in The Gambia should be our utmost priority. I pray that Jammeh and his few supporters realize that his time is up and he should leave peacefully. God Bless our Country and save our families from the evils of war.
The author is in Washington, DC
By Muhamad Sosseh, Esq
US disappointed with Yahya Jammeh over recent remarks of not stepping down
The United States have express total disappointment in Gambia’s outgoing President Yahya Jammeh’s televised remarks of December 20th in which he indicated that he is unwilling to abide by the will of the Gambian people and facilitate a democratic transfer of power.
In a statement posted on its Banjul Embassy Facebook Page on Thursday, the United States reiterated its support to the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) recent consensus declaration that it will support the people of The Gambia and seek to ensure that President Jammeh cedes power at the end of his term in January. The US further echoed the ECOWAS call for President Jammeh to peacefully transfer power to his elected successor, Adama Barrow, in accordance with Gambian law.
Outgoing President Jammeh on Tuesday, December 20th, 2016, during a meeting with a delegation from the so-called African Bar Association, repeated his defiance that he will not step down despite international calls after he lost the December 1st Presidential election to opponent Adama Barrow. He earlier conceded defeated and after a week, made a surprising U-turn by rejecting the results and declaring the results null and void, thereby violating the constitutions.
The Statement posted on the embassy Facebook page reads:
We are disappointed in President Jammeh’s televised remarks of December 20th in which he indicated that he is unwilling to abide by the will of the Gambian people and facilitate a democratic transfer of power. We fully support the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) recent consensus declaration that it will support the people of The Gambia and seek to ensure that President Jammeh cedes power at the end of his term in January. We echo the ECOWAS call for President Jammeh to peacefully transfer power to his elected successor, Adama Barrow, in accordance with Gambian law.
We applaud the strong statement from ECOWAS, calling on President Jammeh to transfer power to his elected successor. We commend President Buhari and President Mahama for agreeing to serve as mediator and co-chair respectively of an ECOWAS mediation committee. We also commend all of the leaders of ECOWAS for their public commitment to attend the January 19 inauguration of President-elect Barrow.
We continue to believe that the outcome of the December 1 election reflects the will of The Gambian people. It is a profound demonstration of a leader’s strength and commitment to national unity, when he or she steps aside after losing in a fair and democratic election, such as The Gambia’s election.
We continue to call on President-elect Barrow and his supporters to engage with President Jammeh in a respectful manner and in accordance with Gambian and international law.
We also implore the Gambian security forces to continue to ensure peace in the country, protect all civilians, guarantee the safety and security of President-elect Barrow, and to respect the democratic transfer of power.
We strongly urge the Gambian security forces that entered the headquarters of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on December 13 to withdraw and not to threaten or intimidate members of the IEC. We view this unnecessary and unprovoked show of force as a move to subvert the democratic process in The Gambia.
As we have said before, the United States condemns outgoing President Jammeh’s statements rejecting the December 1 election results, as well as the decision by Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party to file a petition challenging the election before the Supreme Court. This action is an attempt to rewrite the results after Jammeh accepted them and pledged to respect the will of the people on December 2.
By Alhagie Jobe
Gambia Bar Association dissociates itself from Africa Bar Association
The Gambia Bar Association has issued a statement disassociating itself from the so-called Africa Bar Association actions and who’s President and some members are currently in The Gambia meddling in the political crisis in the country.
The Africa Bar Association President and other members on Monday ‘parachuted’ directly into the State House of The Gambia and met the outgoing President Yahya Jammeh, an action widely condemned by the judicial fraternity.
The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) also reacted to the action of the Africa Bar Association members saying they have nothing to do with it. The PALU further consider the Africa Bar Association to be a fraudulent organisation that does not represent anyone other than its few individual promoters; has no known membership on the African continent; does not speak for African lawyers or lawyers’ associations (Bar Associations and Law Societies) and has no known constituency.
In a statement read before the press on Thursday, Sheriff Tambedou, the President of the Gambia Bar Association said they are not connected or associated with Mr Hannibal Uwaifo and his organisation, the African Bar Association.
“The general public is hereby notified that this organisation does not represent all or any associations or bodies of African lawyers as its name suggests. The said African Bar Association is not connected or associated with the Nigerian Bar Association although its members are predominantly Nigerian. It also is not connected or associated with the Pan African Lawyers Union, the International Bar Association, the African Development Bank or related entities”, the GBA said.
According to GBA, the original African Bar Association that was formed in 1971 in Nigeria was dissolved and merged with associations all over Africa resulting in the creation of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU).
“PALU is the credible and most widely recognised legitimate representative of African lawyers and Associations. The organisation promoted by Mr Uwaifo since 2015 has previously attempted to inaugurate itself in The Gambia through a proposed ‘Rebirth’ conference” it stated.
The GBA said it could not in good conscience participate in such an event taking into account the lack of capacity, competence and resources from Mr Uwaifo’s team. “We therefore confirm that the Gambia Bar Association and its international partners have no connection or affiliation to Mr Uwaifo or his organisation” the Gambia Bar Association concluded.
By Alhagie Jobe
The Impact of Gambia’s predicament on our general well-being
The 22 years of Jammeh’s repressive rule, characterized by arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, mass incarceration, torture, maim and killing of innocent citizens, came with serious consequences even to those not directly affected. Amongst all, killing is the worst and I have previously argued that Jammeh has killed more black people than the United states police and colonial slave masters combined. This claim was swiftly followed and validated by the revelation of Jammeh’s involvement in the illegal weapon smuggling to Southern Sudan, where countless people are currently being killed. No doubt these are all just a tip of the iceberg, shocked will be an underestimate of what we ll find when this monster is eventually removed. Overall, the consequences of living in fear, economic hardship, frustration and despair can be simplified into one factor – stress! That every patriotic Gambian both in country and abroad have been going through the past 22 years.
Stress could be defined as environmental insults that threaten our mental, emotional and social well-being. Its part of the daily routine of every adult, hence our body having a sophisticated mechanism in place to help us counteract it. This our body is able to cope with to a certain length of time, however, prolonged exposure to stress without relief or relaxation between episodes could have an adverse effect on our health. Common health problems associated with stress includes headaches, upset stomach, insomnia, worsening of certain already existing diseases/symptoms and hypertension. The latter, also known as high blood pressure, is what am most concern about because of the simple fact that is classed as one of world’s top ten killer diseases by the world health organization; and also the fact that it shows no symptoms which is why it is also called the silent killer. Africans are most susceptible due to our genetic make up and it imposes a huge economic burden on different countries. Prolonged stress, inflicted by Jammeh’s attitude towards our people, will invoke our body to respond by producing a hormone (chemical messenger) called cortisol, which promotes sodium retention, causing an osmotic pressure in the blood vessels, and eventually leading to hypertension. This is common to Gambian dissidents in the developed countries, and it is thus conceivable that its magnitude on our people in the country, being the ones feeling the absolute brunt of tyranny, coupled with lack of adequate health care and malnutrition, will be more severe.
The associated emotional and social consequences are also a serious problem on our people. It saddens me because Gambians are the best people a Know. They are descent individuals who do not deserve the treatments inflicted by their own government. Its true every society have their own problems, but Gambian’s are attributed to lack of education and depravation of information. The climate of fear has given the people no space to even voice out or speak to a relative about how they feel. For example, no one will dare have a funeral or even a gathering to recite qur’an for a loved one killed by Jammeh. More to the point, stress can cause emotional problems such as depression, anxiety and bipolar. Byproducts of stress hormones can act as sedatives (chemical substances which cause us to become calm or fatigued). When such hormone byproducts occur in large amounts (which will happen under conditions of chronic stress), they may contribute to a sustained feeling of low energy or depression. This further affect our social-well being and even to an extend of breaking relationships and marriage. Most partners will tell you they are not all that happy in their marriage as their partners are addicted to online radios, and listens to it to get their routine “hit” of stress. Our cultures and religions helps in this regard to maintain marriages, as divorce applications will hit the roof if we were people of western cultures.
It is good idea for us try attenuate these problems by understanding that Jammeh is done and he will NEVER be our president again past 18th January. We should be more engaged in other activities such as exercising regularly, eating healthy (low salt) and spending enough time with loved ones. We have won! And we are in one piece!
Moving forward, god came to our rescue finally and has given us the best leadership we could hope for. For a country coming from a 22 years of brutal dictatorship, it is blessed to be in the hands of a calm, collected and compassionate leader surrounded by competent and determined team members ready to deliver us to the promised land. Hon. Barrow, apart from unifying and helping to build stronger communities, institutional reforms, building the foundation for democracy, must put the broken health care system, that’s been ignored by the jammeh administration for two decades, an utmost priority to mitigate further loss of lives. A lot of our people are dying from preventable diseases.
He should promote primary, secondary and tertiary health care system that will not only safe lives but also increase a nationwide live expectancy from the current 60 to 75 years. Primary health care will aim at enlightening the people of diseases by creating health clubs, seminars, training first aiders, health and safety awareness and assessing traditional health practices and integrate good ones and try get rid of bad ones. Secondary health care will promote construction of hospitals in towns with a certain number of people, provide state of the earth laboratories and equiptment, adequately trained professionals, provide ambulances and ensure an affable health care service for all. Tertiary health care will create or at least revamp current five major hospitals (Banjul, Farafenni, Brikama Ba, Bansang and Basse) that will be equipped with accident and emergency, and intensive care unit. These might not be achieved but will be a start for subsequent leaders and in 10 years, Gambia will be created where citizens will live up to their full potential.
I have no doubt Hon. Adama will serve to our expectation in putting Gambia in the right direction and I commend him for his call to all inclusive Gambians workforce, and would love to see some of the resource rich diasporans going home to help, as I would love to see a new Gambia that is as strong as those who defend her. I am hopeful for my country!
God bless the Gambia.
By Yunus Hydara
Defiant President Yahya Jammeh got it all wrong in his address to the nation
In his address to the nation before a panel of African Lawyers, President Yahya Jammeh appeared erratic, broken, angry, defiant, betrayed and defensive about his decision to challenge the outcome of the elections.
To Gambians and non-Gambians alike, the man in that erratic and defiant tone on national television was a familiar face; a face of deceit, lies, greed, arrogance and disrespect for due process. From his rants about the election, to the principles of sovereignty regarding interventions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the United Nations (UN), none of Yahya Jammeh’s remarks makes sense. The erratic leader’s remarks mark a sharp contrast from Gambian and international governance realities.
Regarding his reasons for shifting from conceding to challenging and annulling election results, Yahya Jammeh failed to realize that his actions constitute an abuse of legislative and executive power; an act of treason as most legal luminaries opined. Under the constitution, participating political parties can only file a petition to the Supreme Court to determine the validity of the election. And such petitions do not necessarily change the outcome of the election presented by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
More baffling of all was Jammeh’s departure from his earlier assertion that the election process in The Gambia is by far the most transparent in the entire world. Jammeh’s departure from his own bragging lines and conceding defeat to transgressing constitutional procedures and principles confirms President Yahya Jammeh’s lack of respect for the people.
Reference to remarks on interventions by ECOWAS and the UN, little did Jammeh realize that there has been a change of policy on the meaning of sovereignty. The erratic president’s use of sovereignty and non-interference in dismissing calls to uphold election results is indeed a departure from contemporary meaning of sovereignty. Traditionally, the meaning of sovereignty was limited to non-interference, however, in contemporary terms sovereignty means responsibility to the people. President Jammeh got it all wrong.
By the dawn of the millennium, a response to the state abuse of power or reluctance to protect citizens in Rwanda and Srebrenica (just to name a few), triggered a new global initiative to draw the fine line between sovereignty, responsibility and intervention. In line with that thinking, former Secretary General Kofi Annan was among the first global citizens to plea to the international community to find a consensus on state sovereignty, responsibility and intervention.
In September 2000, the UN General Assembly established The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICIS). The commission comprising of twelve commissioners presented its report with the central theme “The Responsibility to Protect”
“The responsibility to protect is the idea that states have an obligation to protect their citizens from avoidable catastrophe when they are unwilling or unable to do so, that responsibility must be borne by the broader community of states”.
The shift from sovereignty in the context of control and non-interference to sovereignty in the context of responsibility strengthened intergovernmental provisions of good governance and the rule of law in numerous way. First, state authorities are now held responsible for functions of protecting citizens. Second, state authorities are directly accountable to citizens and the international community. Third, state agents are directly responsible for their very own actions. President Jammeh’s narrow perception of sovereignty and non- interference shows his lack of interest for the legitimate concern of citizens regarding good governance, security, opportunities and progress in a changing world.
Arguably, the principle of intervention, including military intervention is justified and supported when citizens are harmed or peace and security is threatened and the state is either unwilling or unable to protect citizens, or the state is the perpetrator. These are the basis on which ECOWAS, UN and AU intervention in Gambia is justified. It was the same basis on which ECOWAS intervened in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea Bissau.
In sum, President Yahya Jammeh got it all wrong in his address to the nation. Gambians have spoken well and President-Elect Adama Barrow is entrusted with the legitimate consent and mandate to be the President of the Third Gambian Republic.
The author is at Rutgers University, Newark Campus
By Professor Binneh S. Minteh
Building The New Gambia: Carry your flag!
After successfully staying at Home on December 20, now we go to next step.
Carry Your Gambia Flag from tomorrow December 22. Every day. Whether it is a small or big flag, or scarf or hat or shirt, just carry the Gambia flag. Fly the flag in your home. Place it on your desk. Hang it on your vehicle. Change your social media profiles to the Gambia colours. Red, White, Blue, White, Green.
Let the national colours show everywhere.
We want to show and carry our national colours to tell Yahya Jammeh that the African Bar Association cannot save you. Desperation has forced him to run to a bunch of corrupt foreigners to destroy our country, but we will not allow it. We will show him our national colours. Let us show him that we love the Gambia and the Gambia is as peaceful and beautiful as our national colours. Red, White, Blue, White, Green. Pure colours of God and humanity. Yahya Jammeh and the African Bar Association cannot soil these pure and serene colours of liberty, peace and justice.
Carry your National Flag from Tomorrow. Let us stand for the Gambia.
Dictators live and die with power. Dictators never ever willingly leave power until pushed out. Dictators have only one objective, which is remain in power till the end of time. Dictators are parasites like mosquitoes and amoeba.
The only reason Dictators do not leave power is because Dictators are afraid of accountability because the Dictator knows he has committed heinous crimes and atrocities. The Dictator knows he has stolen so much public wealth and he does not want to lose that wealth. This is why Dictators have never ever left power since the days of the Biblical/Quranic Pharaohs to Hitler to Saddam Hussein to Idi Amin to Blaise Campaore and now to Yahya Jammeh. They are of the same breed. Blood suckers!
Dictatorship is the acquisition and control of state power by a criminal. Dictatorship is a political system in which State Power is used as a tool to achieve economic objectives, illegally. This is why all Dictators are richer than their people. Dictatorship uses violence and deception to control his people and subject them to obedience and submission. So long as the people are not resisting the Dictator, then Dictatorship thrives on and on.
This is why civil disobedience is the strongest weapon against a Dictator. The use of legal, nonviolent and peaceful means of resistance kills the moral, legal and political power base of the Dictator. This is why each and every Gambian must be engaging in civil disobedience.
We must engage in civil disobedience in order to isolate and disempower Yahya Jammeh until he agrees to peacefully hand over power to Adama Barrow on January 19. Willingly or not. But certainly peacefully.
Let the flag fly!
By Madi Jobarteh
Pan African Lawyers Union disassociates itself from African Bar Associations’ actions on Gambia
The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) has issued a strong statement vehemently disassociating itself from the statements and actions taken by the African Bar Association (AfBA) on the current legal and political nightmares in The Gambia.
The African Bar Association on Tuesday without consent from its affiliate, The Gambia Bar Association, held a meeting with outgoing Gambian President Yahya Jammeh and assured him of their support particulary in instituting the vacant Supreme Court in The Gambia to hear his petition challenging the election results.
You may recall that The Gambia went to the polls on December 1st in which incumbent President Yahya Jammeh was defeated by opposition coalition candidate Adama Barrow. Mr Jammeh conceded defeated and after a week, made a surprising U-turn by rejecting the results and declaring the results null and void, thereby violating the constitutions. He further announced that he was filing a petition to the court which has been vacant since May 2015 and has not been functioning.
In a letter addressed to the Gambia Bar Association disassociating itself from the actions of the Africa Bar Association, Donald Deya, Chief Executive Officer, Pan African Lawyers’ Union (PALU) said they are in solidarity with The Gambia Bar Association at this sensitive time and support the positions taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) with regard to The Gambia.
Below is the full text of the statement;
Re: Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) dissociates itself from the statements and actions taken by the African Bar Association (AfBA)
I have been instructed by the President and the Executive Committee (Board) of PALU to write to you to continue to express our solidarity with you at this sensitive time in your country, and also to dissociate ourselves from and condemn the Statements and actions apparently undertaken by the African Bar Association (AfBA). We stand by our own Statement on the situation in The Gambia, which we issued on 12th December 2016. We also support the positions taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) with regard to the Gambia.
We look forward to full implementation of the Decisions of the ECOWAS Summit held in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria this past Saturday, 17th December 2016. The AfBA position flies in the face of, and contradicts, the unanimous position of ECOWAS, AU and UN, and indeed of PALU. It flies in the face of, and contradicts, international law. It is, simply put, unlawful.
We highlight that we, as PALU, have nothing to do with AfBA. We consider AfBA to be a fraudulent organisation that does not represent anyone other than its few individual promoters. It has no known membership on the African continent. It does not speak for African lawyers or lawyers’ associations (Bar Associations and Law Societies). It has no known constituency. If it considered the Gambian Bar Association (GBA) to be its member association, there is no way it would have ‘parachuted’ directly into the State House of The Gambia, to meet the outgoing President of The Gambia, without consulting its member!
We advise that the GBA treat that action with the contempt it deserves, but that you go ahead and inform the Gambian citizenry and the international community that you neither recognise AfBA nor does it represent the African legal profession. The PALU Board has directed me to do the same, and we will shortly put out a Statement in this regard.
Meanwhile, may I just recall our email to you of 13th November 2015 (attached herein for ease of reference) when we addressed this issue of AfBA.
Donald Deya
Chief Executive Officer, Pan African Lawyers’ Union (PALU)
Dangerous stalemate in Gambia’s crisis
The London newspaper this morning, The Guardian, brings news of the dangerous situation developing in The Gambia.
Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal and Francois Hollande of France are quoted as stating clearly that “Jammeh must leave the Presidency in The Gambia” – as the Gambian people voted for the election winner Adama Barrow, the President Elect.
Jammeh is quoted as saying “I am not going anywhere. Adama Barrow is Ex-President Elect. I have nullified the election”.
Sall and Hollande state categorically that “Jammeh’s Departure is Non-Negotiable”.
Sall’s Senegal is Francophone Africa’s military power, and France is the West’s power in West Africa – with troops current in the region. Their “Jammeh’s Departure is Non-Negotiable” position is backed by ECOWAS, the EU, UK, USA and the United Nations. Their position is also backed by a dozen of Gambia’s Diplomatic Corp – including ambassadors in USA, UK, Russia and China who have just published a communiqué asking Jammeh to go. Gambia’s Civil Society and Professional Associations have all asked Jammeh to go – as have the main Christian and Muslim organisations in The Gambia. The University Students are on strike until Jammeh goes. The Gambian electorate voted against Jammeh.
If the whole world says “Jammeh’s Departure is Non-Negotiable”, it is difficult to see what Jammeh hopes to gain by insisting that he “will not go”. All that Jammeh can possibly “gain” is bring a Libya-style chaos to The Gambia – but that won’t happen. A military solution to the “Jammeh-problem” may be the only option left to the world after 18th January 2017, but that would not make Gambia descend into chaos as happened in Libya.
For one thing Gambians are unanimous in wanting peace and, secondly, Gambians don’t have the mad Islamic radicalism of Alqaeda and Islamic State that is tearing Libya apart today. And thirdly, Gambia is within peaceful and democratic Senegal who are determined to protect Gambia’s New Democracy.
The danger is in the short-term. I worry for the President-Elect and his colleagues if Jammeh decides on Hara-Kiri and decides to take his enemies with him. But I am sure that Senegal and Western Diplomats in The Gambia are already making contingency plans for the security of their staff and citizens – and no doubt they will include the Transition Government of President-Elect Barrow.
Let us hope and pray that Jammeh will change his mind to break the stalemate, and/or the Gambia’s Armed Forces will step-in to ensure the Inauguration of the President-Elect come January 19th 2017.
By Dida Halake
Gambian Students Association in Cyprus condemns Jammeh’s actions
PRESS RELEASE – DEC. 20th: Without any pressure or force after conceding defeat and congratulating the President elect, and also confirm that the Gambia election is second to known in term of fairness, free and transparency, the nation applauded, honored your bravery and maturity as a person. Importantly we the Gambian students abroad were also congratulated and applauded by our fellow students across the globe.
But on December 9th, when you took a U-turn it came as a total shock and disappointment to the whole nation and the world at large.
The Gambian students Association in Cyprus vehemently condemns in the strongest possible terms the announcement by outgoing President Yahya Jammeh made on Friday the 9th December 2016 declaring the 1st December 2016 elections null and void.
The outgoing President statement offends the Constitution of The Republic of The Gambia, and legitimate will cum decision of the People of The Gambia. We believe that a patriotic and true citizen of a country is a citizen who value and respect the constitution of his/her country and its people. We call on the outgoing president to be a true and patriotic citizen of the Gambia and respect his preaching for the past 22 years; that is non compromise to peace and stability of the Gambia.
We call on the outgoing president to respect the will of The Gambian people, honor the constitution of The Gambia that he swore to defend without affection or ill-will, and transfer executive power to the President-elect His Excellency Honorable Adama Barrow immediately, through a smooth and peaceful transition as provided by the Constitution. Certainly, The Gambia is bigger than any party or an individual interest and this shall not be compromised.
Furthermore, this action of the outgoing president Yaya Jammeh is tantamount to a lot of negative consequences to our beloved nation politically, economically, socially and even psychologically.
We also call on the Gambia security forces to respect the will cum decision of the people of the Gambian and also the constitution of the republic of the Gambia which they swore to protect without affection or ill-will.
The outgoing president we want you to revert your decision to challenge the voice of the people and open the doors for a smooth transition in the interest of peace, security, stability, economy of the Gambia and socio-economic development of the country.
We take this opportunity to congratulate the President-elect Adama Barrow and pledge our full allegiance and support to him and his cabinet.
For the Gambia our Homeland!!
First Lady Zineb Jammeh Abandoned By Her Security Detail
First Lady Zineb Yahya Jammeh will be heading home from Washington on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 without two of her closest guards. Lamin Bojang known as ‘Obama’ and a private soldier, one Badjie have absconded leaving madame Jammeh in a state of shock after she found out.
Sources say ‘Obama’ is very close to Mariam and Muhammed Jammeh after working for the first family for many years. The first lady is said to have been crying since the two left on monday. A very credible source told The Fatu Network that she called her husband, dictator Jammeh complaining that the soldiers attached to her are very ungrateful.
Meanwhile, the first family is going through very difficult times after Gambians voted that they have enough of them, sending them packing. Dictator Jammeh is still holding on to power refusing to work towards a peaceful transfer of power to President Elect, Adama Barrow. Gambians are going about their daily lives knowing that come January 19, Adama Barrow will be sworn in as the new president of The Gambia.
Yahya Jammeh insists he will not step down
Disgraced outgoing Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has again come out clearly to repeat his position that he will not step down when his term ends insisting that the December 1st elections where not fair.
Speaking at a meeting with a delegation from the Africa Bar Association at State House on Tuesday aired on state TV, Mr Jammeh said he is proceeding with the court petition challenging the results citing several irregularities which be blamed for his lost.
“I am not a coward. My rights cannot be intimidated and violated. This is my position. Nobody can deprive me of that victory except the Almighty Allah,” Mr Jammeh said.
It could be recalled that The Gambia went to the polls on December 1st, 2016 and incumbent President Yahya Jammeh was defeated. He conceded defeat and later made a U-turn, rejecting and calling the results ‘null and void’. Since then, the country plunges into a political nightmare and there have been calls by various national institutions and organizations, regional and international bodies for Mr Jammeh to respect the will of the people.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Mr Jammeh condemned the mediation by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS that aimed to get him to leave power after he lost the December 1 election to challenger and President-elect Adama Barrow.
According to him, this conflict cannot be peacefully resolved when institutions concern are making threats and disrespecting facts, citing ECOWAS position towards the situation as violation of its laws on ‘interfering in internal affairs’ of other states.
A heavyweight quartet of West African leaders Fact Finding Mission was sent to The Gambia. The delegation led by ECOWAS chair and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, included Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone’s Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana’s outgoing President John Mahama as well as the UN Africa envoy Mohamad Ibn Chambas.
“Already, the ECOWAS meeting was a formality. Before they came, they had already said Jammeh must step down. But I will not step down,” he told visiting members of the Africa Bar Association.
Maintaining his position, Mr Jammeh who referred to the President-elect Adama Barrow as so-called by rubbishing his legitimacy, repeated that the only way is to re-organise election so that every Gambian will vote.
He said: “I will die for what I believe. Who are they (Opposition coalition, ECOWAS, AU and the West) to ask me to go. It’s disrespectful to our Constitution. Even they (opposition) won legally, I have 60 days to stay before leaving”.
Still disputing the fairness of the election, Mr Jammeh insist he will leave office only based on what he called ‘the will of the people in fair election’ saying he better die than to be cheated by the electoral commission and been force by foreign powers to step down.
Meanwhile, President-elect Adama Barrow is expected to be sworn-in on January 19th, 2017, to be attended by various West African leaders as contained in the Abjua Summit communiqué of December 17th, 2016.
By Alhagie Jobe
GTTI Law Students to boycott lectures until political normalcy is back
The Law Students Association of the Gambia Technical Training Institute have called on the law students to boycott lectures until the political situation of the country is back to normalcy.
It could be recalled that The Gambia voted on December 1st, 2016 and incumbent President Yahya Jammeh was defeated. He conceded defeat and later made a U-turn, rejecting the results. Since then, the country plunges into a political nightmare and there have been calls by various institutions and organizations in the Gambia for Mr Jammeh to respect the will of the people.
“We would boycott lectures until the political situation of the country is back to normalcy for the safety and welfare of all law students as the unpredictable situation is highly unfavorable,” Law Association said. According to reports, the Board of Executive of the Association has conducted vote on the boycott at the institute which majority of the students voted overwhelmingly. It is reported that the petition was submitted to the management. It is said all law students are members to the association.
“We have been receiving complaints from students that they don’t have peace of mind while attending lectures under the current political situation,” said a source. Meanwhile, the management have not still respond to the petition, though the boycott started yesterday.
French President Holland says Gambia’s President-elect Barrow should be sworn-in immediately
French President François Holland has called for the immediate installation of Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow considering the results of the election are indisputable.
At a news joint news conference with visiting Senegalese President Macky Sall on Tuesday at the Elysée in Paris, President Hollande said outgoing President Yahya Jammeh had lost the elections, conceded defeat and should handover power gracefully. He told Mr Jammeh that in no circumstances, he can be president anymore and should respect the will of the Gambian people.
“In The Gambia, an election has taken place, the result are clear and cannot be challenged and President-elect Adama Barrow must be installed as soon as possible” Hollande told the news conference at the Elysée. According to Hollande, “there is no doubt about this reality. No transaction is possible and Mr Jammeh should respect the will of the people”.
The Gambia went to the polls on December 1st, 2016 in which incumbent President Yahya Jammeh was defeated by the opposition coalition leader Adama Barrow. Mr Jammeh conceded defeat and a week later made a surprising U-turn by rejecting the results citing certain irregularities at the level of the electoral commission.
Since then, the country plunges into a political nightmare and there are several high level diplomatic missions underway to persuade incumbent Yahya Jammeh to respect the will of the will and hand over power to President-elect Adama Barrow.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) dispatched a quartet of African leaders to The Gambia last week to bring a lasting solution. This was followed by an emergency summit of the Heads of States held in Abuja, Nigeria, in which The Gambia was top on the agenda and after which, leader unanimously urged Mr Jammeh to step down when his term ends and handover power peacefully to President-elect Adama Barrow.
President Hollande welcomed the decision of the 50th ECOWAS Heads of States and Government Summit held in Abuja on December 17th saying, like Senegal and the regional bloc, UN, UK, USA and others, France is behind the Gambian people and condemned Mr Jammeh for his actions. He categorically warned him to accept defeat for the interest of peace and avoid any other option against him by the international community. The French leader then made it clear that as from now on, France only recognizes President-elect Adama Barrow is the legitimate president of The Gambia.
By Alhagie Jobe
How Yahya Jammeh lost the elections
It is quite obvious that outgoing President Yahya Jammeh was very much surprised by his defeat at the polls which he had never anticipated despite all the signs to that effect. This is apparently why he was so confused by the results that he did not know how to react, hence his initial acceptance of the results only to make a U-turn and declare them null and void.
It must have taken him sometime for the implications of his defeat to sink and for him to realize that he was on his way out of State House, which he never thought was possible because he thought he had done so much for Gambians as well as he had the electoral system tightly under his control that elections can never remove him from power.
While there is no easy answer to the question as to how Jammeh lost the elections, but there are a few indications how his defeat came about, and most of them were his own making. In the first place, his arrogance and lack of respect for the ordinary Gambians was no doubt one of them. As far as he is concerned, he was put in power by the Almighty Allah and the blessings of his parents and not by the people who continuously voted for him. That was why he kept on bragging that neither elections nor a coup d’etat could remove him from power.
Secondly, subjecting the Mandinkas, the country’s largest ethnic group, to the most vitriolic attack, describing them as rats that he would wipe out, when he had been winning in virtually all the Mandinka-dominated areas of the country, played a significant part in his defeat. A majority of Gambians found such attacks so despicable and uncalled for, especially from a head of state, that they agreed that it was time for him to go.
Another of his mistakes was no doubt the decision to verbally declare the country an Islamic Republic in complete violation of Chapter 1, Section 1 (1) of the 1997 Constitution which says; “The Gambia is a Sovereign Secular Republic”, which is an entrenched clause that can only be changed by a referendum. He apparently seems to have been listening to the advices of Islamic radicals like Dr. Zakir Naik, failing to realize that even though the Gambia is a majority Muslim country, but Gambian Muslims would never accommodate radical Islam that would sow seeds of discord between them and their non-Muslim compatriots.
Apart from taking Gambians for granted and doing things on his own without any regard to how the people felt, he was also to a large extent responsible for his own defeat through some certain unwise decision and actions. For instance, if he had not precipitated the removal of that section of the Constitution which called for a second round in the event none of the candidates obtains more than 50 per cent of the vote in the first round, he could have gone to a second round and he was very likely to have won, especially if he had made a deal with Mamma Kandeh who came third in the elections.
Another of his mistakes was that, if the rumours were correct, Mamma Kandeh was not qualified to contest the elections because the electoral law required that candidates had a senior secondary school certificate which Kandeh never had, but Jammeh was said to have insisted that he be allowed to stand, apparently with the belief that Kandeh was going to share the opposition vote and that will make his victory much easier. It however turned out that Kandeh instead took his own potential votes. In fact all the areas that Kandeh won or scored high were the places Jammeh used to easily win in all the past elections.
Therefore, Kandeh’s participation in the elections was a blessing in disguise for the opposition coalition because if he had not contested, it is almost quite obvious that Jammeh would have won.
Again, Jammeh’s failure to appoint the required number of judges for the Supreme Court for more than a year could have been deliberate as he was quite sure that he was going to win the elections and also sure that the opposition were going to challenge the results, and without a Supreme Court in place, their complaints would never have been heard. However, it has now boomeranged on him as without a quorum, it is hard to see how his complaint can be heard by the Supreme Court. Of course it is out of the question for him to appoint the required number of judges at this stage for them to hear his case. That would be unacceptable to both the coalition and the international community.
Another of his self-imposed legal constraints is no doubt his order for the security forces to take over the headquarters of the Independent Electoral Commission and prevent the Chairman Alieu Momar Njai and his staff from access to their offices, where all the elections records are supposedly kept. What is the guarantee that his supporters are not going to tamper with the records in order to make a case for him when the matter ever reaches the Supreme Court? That was indeed not a very wise move, especially happening on the very day that the Ecowas delegation was in Banjul and they witnessed everything that happened.
Therefore with the above as well as several other arrogant decision made by Jammeh and his cohorts, it is very hard to see how he would still hope to remain in power. He should definitely understand that the game is over and the best he could do for the country that he claims to love so much is to accept that he has been rejected by the majority of the Gambian electorate and exit peacefully.
Of course, both the coalition and the international community have made it categorically clear that after his mandate expires on the 19 January, 2017, he must step down and if he fails to do so, then there is possibility of military action to flush him out. Let us however hope and pray that such a possibility will never arise.
Indeed, President Jammeh and his few remaining supporters would be fooling themselves to think that when it comes to taking military action against him, most members of the Gambia National Army would risk their lives to defend the indefensible when they know that he would be eventually forced out and that he has all members of his family safe abroad whilst their own families are in the country.
By D. A. Jawo