The Gambian election winner Adama Barrow has been sworn in as President at the country’s embassy in Senegal, with incumbent Yahya Jammeh holed up in Banjul and still refusing to give up power.
Mr Barrow’s inauguration ceremony in a small conference room at the Dakar embassy was attended by representatives from the Ecowas regional bloc of west African countries.
The bloc has threatened to invade The Gambia to forcefully eject Mr Jammeh if he will not step aside peacefully. Nigerian gunboats and Senegalese troops have assembled on the Gambian border.
Introducing the new President Barrow, an official declared that “after 22 years of a gruelling dictatorship, the Gambian people have opted for change”.
Mr Barrow addressed the audience of delegates and west African presidents, saying: “This is victory of the Gambian nation. Our national flag will now fly high among the other democratic nations of the world.
“This is a day no Gambian will ever forget.
The hastily-arranged ceremony was also an opportunity for the international community to express support for Mr Barrow, their chosen candidate. An Ecowas official said: “The Ecowas Commission, African Union and United Nations congratulate his excellency Adama Barrow, President of the republic of The Gambia, as he is sworn in following his victory at the presidential election on 1 December 2016.
“The Ecowas Commision, AU and UN equally congratulate the people of The Gambia who have demonstrated patience, discipline, maturity and resolve to express their popular will at the election and during the post-election crisis.”
The UN Security Council was expected to vote later on Thursday on a draft resolution endorsing the West African regional force’s efforts to remove Mr Jammeh, whose mandate expired at midnight on Wednesday.
Mr Barrow convincingly won the December election, appearing to bring an end to the more than two decades-long role of Mr Jammeh, who came to power in a coup in 1994.
Mr Jammeh initially conceded defeat, sparking celebrations across west Africa. But he then changed his mind and said he would not accept the results, saying the election was marred by irregularities.
On Thursday, former ally Botswana announced it no longer recognised Mr Jammeh as The Gambia’s President. It said his refusal to give up power “undermines the ongoing efforts to consolidate democracy and good governance” in The Gambia and in Africa in general.
The streets of Banjul, the Gambian capital, were quiet on Thursday, according to reporters who remained in the city, with few cars and scattered groups of men gathered on roadsides. Shops were closed and petrol was in short supply.
Most tourists and thousands of Gambians have fled the country, including some former cabinet members who resigned in recent days.
/The Independent/
