Punctual as fate, last Friday, has come the expected re-thinking of the Gambian dictator, Yahya Jammeh, which has rejected the result of the presidential election held earlier this month. After the vote, the former Gambian’s strongman had acknowledged electoral defeat and congratulated his opponent, the candidate of the opposition party (UDP) Adama Barrow, and claiming to be ready to return in the native village to devote himself to his farm.
Then, last December 9, while the population was still elating by the end of 22 years of dictatorship and hopeful in the beginning of a new era for the Gambia, Jammeh gave a speech on state television in which he rejected the Commission electoral results. Judging it guilty of having betrayed his trust for having spoiled the vote with “unacceptable mistakes.”
In addition, the outgoing President has put in the dispute even the slight detachment with which Barrow won. Initially, it seemed that the entrepreneur had obtained 50 thousand votes more than his opponent had, then after several recounts the gap between the two contenders was reduced to less than 20 thousand preferences.
Therefore, Jammeh wants to go to the polls and in the meantime, he attempted to secure the loyalty of the military by promoting 250 officers of the army, long-time torn by internal rivalries. In this sense, the focus is on the head of the Armed Forces, General Ousman Badije that, despite having been indicated by a Barrow’s spokesman as a supporter of the elected president, is considered a Jammeh loyalist.
In any case, Badije has removed any doubt showing up with a Jammeh brooch on the uniform during the talks with leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to find a solution to the political crisis. Nevertheless, on Tuesday, he stated to the Reuters of supporting the commander in chief Jammeh.
This support has enabled the dictator to oversee from elite units the crucial hubs of the capital Banjul, where according to the evidence presented by the African media, reigns the classic calm before the storm.
The reactions of blame to Jammeh turnaround were unanimous, starting from Senegal, within which the Gambia form virtually an enclave. The Senegalese Foreign Minister, Mankeur Ndiaye, said in a statement, “the outgoing president should respect unconditionally the democratic choice freely expressed by the Gambian people and to guarantee the safety and physical integrity of the just elected president.”
The head of the Dakar diplomacy has also appealed to the collaboration to enforce the results of the presidential poll of December 1 the African Union, ECOWAS and the UN, who have accepted the invitation of Ndyae unanimously condemning the conduct of Jammeh.
The United States also call for respect of the election result, while Adama Barrow continues to declare “the democratically elected president of the Republic of the Gambia,” urging Jammeh to respect the popular will, follow-up the transition of power.
In response, the dictator announced it would appeal to the Supreme Court to invalidate the result of the presidential election on December 1. However, after that in June last year, Jammeh has dismissed two of the seven judges, the Court is currently not established and cannot therefore rule. Meanwhile, three days, the security forces have taken control of the Electoral Commission headquarters in Banjul independent.
The action of Jammeh threatens now to inflame the political conflict in the African country, where on Tuesday has arrived an ECOWAS delegation led by Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, to mediate between the parties and avoid an escalation of the crisis.
The president of ECOWAS, Marcel de Souza, in an interview with French broadcaster RFI, said, “no one can doubt the will of the people was expressed. Adama Barrow is the elected president, point.” The diplomat did not rule out the possibility of military intervention in Gambia if the situation were to escalate in the country, but has nevertheless stated that a decision would be up to Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS countries, who will meet tomorrow in Nigeria.
Most of analysts believe that the Jammeh re-thinking is the result of certain statements made by opposition members who would be asked to process the dictator for the abuses committed during his 22-year presidency. To highlight that at the end of October, Jammeh announced the withdrawal of the Gambia by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In this sense, Jammeh would then raising the stakes, to get ECOWAS guarantees on his immunity, as a counterpart to his exit. Moreover, if nothing else, he obtained a first result, to bring together the African regional organization leaders around a table to negotiate with him.
Punctual as fate, last Friday, has come the expected re-thinking of the Gambian dictator, Yahya Jammeh, which has rejected the result of the presidential election held earlier this month. After the vote, the former Gambian’s strongman had acknowledged electoral defeat and congratulated his opponent, the candidate of the opposition party (UDP) Adama Barrow, and claiming to be ready to return in the native village to devote himself to his farm.
