By Alhagie Jobe
Gambia’s President- Elect Adama Barrow and the Coalition has rubbished any attempt to legitimize the illegal action of the outgoing President Yahya Jammeh and even the idea that his actions are capable of being legitimized following his intention to file a petition in court to challenge the result of the December 1st Presidential election.
According to President-elect Barrow and the Coalition, any petition or process filed in court to challenge the election results will be a further demonstration that the outgoing President and his APRC Party have no respect or regard for the Gambian People, are bent on ignoring their aspiration, and undermining the transition process.
President-elect Barrow and Coalition’s reaction came following the announcement by outgoing President Jammeh and his APRC party on national television, GRTS that they intend to file a petition in court to challenge the result of the December 1st Presidential election.
At a press conference held on Monday at the Kairaba Beach Hotel, Mai Ahmed Fatty of the GMC Party and member of the coalition on behalf President-elect Barrow said the Gambian people should know that there is no Supreme Court at this point in The Gambia and that there has not been one for one year.
According to him, the Coalition do not recognize that the outgoing President has the constitutional authority, in the last days of his Presidency, to appoint any Supreme Court judge in The Gambia for the purpose of receiving his petition.
“There is no Supreme Court in The Gambia and there has not even been one for a whole year now. The Supreme Court has not been constituted for a year and has last sat since Justices Gibou Janneh and Raymond Sock were dismissed by outgoing President Yahya Jammeh. It does not have sufficient judges to be constituted. Therefore, outgoing President Jammeh has no authority in the last days of his presidency, to appoint and swear in new judges for the purpose of receiving his petition to make a determination on an election that has already be concluded. We also received information that five of the judges that Jammeh intends to appoint and swear in are from Nigeria and one from Sierra Leone” he revealed.
Recalling that APRC in the statement said the previous comments by outgoing President Jammeh describing the election results ‘null and void’ was a prelude to the proposed court action, Mai Fatty said President Jammeh’s intentions were crystal clear and there was no ambiguity in what he said.
Hon. Fatty made it clear that President- elect Barrow and the Coalition unequivocally reject the implied notion that outgoing President Jammeh misspoke or made a mistake in his statement.
“President Jammeh’s intentions were crystal clear. There was no ambiguity in what he said. He rejected the results of the election and declared them null and void. He also announced that new election would be held under the auspices of a new IEC” Fatty said.
Hon. Fatty on behalf of President-elect Barrow and the Coalition reiterated the call of the international community, in particular the United Nations Security Council, ECOWAS and the AU, and demand that outgoing President Jammeh immediately step down and handover power.
“We also call on the APRC to prevail on their Secretary General, the outgoing President, to respect the outcome of the election and to refrain from any futile attempt to further subvert the Gambian people’s yearning for true democracy” he said.
He also called on the Jammeh’s APRC party members to immediately stop inciting division and spreading false rumors about non-existence partisan and tribal violence in the country.
“The Gambia Police Force has not reported a single incident against APRC members been attacked or violated by any coalition member on bases of party lines. The APRC is urged to stop the false rumor” he concluded.
