Senegal's president has called on Gambia's leader to respect the results of the country's Dec. 1 election that saw President Yahya Jammeh lose to his rival.

Jammeh initially conceded defeat but later rejected results that would force him to step down after 22 years in power.

Senegal's foreign ministry, the United Nations Security Council, West Africa's regional bloc and Gambia's diaspora community have all urged Jammeh to respect the Gambian people's choice.

President Macky Sall of Senegal, which surrounds Gambia, late Saturday joined the calls for a peaceful transition in Gambia, where tens of thousands of Senegalese reside.

Gambia's president-elect Adama Barrow said Saturday that Jammeh has no constitutional authority to invalidate the vote, calling on him for a smooth transition in the interest of the tiny West African country. </s> DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The United Nations secretary-general says a takeover by Gambia’s security forces of the country’s electoral commission offices could compromise “sensitive electoral material” as the president refuses to accept being voted out of power.

The spokesman for the U.N. chief in a statement Wednesday said Tuesday’s blockading of the election offices was an “outrageous act of disrespect” and a sign of defiance as West African leaders visited to urge President Yahya Jammeh to accept his loss.

The U.N. statement calls on security forces to immediately leave the electoral offices. It also calls for a peaceful transfer of power.

West African leaders will meet Saturday about Gambia’s election crisis. Jammeh initially conceded to Adama Barrow, who won the Dec. 1 vote, but later rejected the results. </s> After a 22-year rule, Gambia’s longtime leader, Yahya Jammeh has finally agreed to step down from power after refusing to accept defeat during last year’s election. West African armies invaded the country to remove the recalcitrant leader who refused to concede an election defeat to President Adama Barrow.

In December’s election, Jammeh lost to his opponent, Barrow and initially conceded defeat. Nonetheless, he later had a change of mind and declared the vote unfair.

Apparently, there won’t be any need for violence now since he has taken a decision to step aside thus, bringing an end to a reign that began in 1994 when he seized power in a coup. His government was notorious for torturing and killing perceived opponents to ensure he has no rivalry.

In a statement made in the face of pressure, Jammeh succumbed to the pressure from concerned West African countries. “I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation,” he said on state television.

Without giving any details of what deal he might have struck, the disgraced president decided to step aside to avoid bloodshed “not necessary that a single drop of blood be shed,” he said.

Clad in a white robe and looking tired, Jammeh was due to leave Banjul early Saturday afternoon. In addition, he will be going into exile in Guinea Conakry. The official statement followed hours of talks between Yahya Jammeh and West African mediators.

Mr. Barrow who has been in neighbouring Senegal for days was inaugurated as president in the Gambian embassy there on Thursday.

Subsequently, troops from several West African nations, including Senegal were deployed in Gambia. Their mission was to drive former president Jammeh out of office if he did not agree to go </s> President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia gestures before casting his marble in a polling station in Banjul during the election on December 1, 2016. He conceded defeat to the opposition but on December 9 changed his mind and rejected the poll outcome. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Gambia has been thrown into a state of anxiety and confusion after long serving leader Yahya Jammeh annulled last week’s presidential election result, citing irregularities.

President Jammeh, in a surprise announcement on state TV Friday evening, called for a rerun of the poll that was won by opposition candidate Adama Barrow. He alleged that the election had been rigged in favour of the opposition and cited irregularities in the counting.

President Jammeh also said investigations by his party suggested that many of their voters were deliberately discouraged from casting their ballots.

“After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election,” he said in a statement aired on the Gambia Radio and Television Services.

“I recommend fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a God-fearing and independent electoral commission.”

Mr Barrow, backed by a coalition of seven parties, won the three-man race on on December 1 with 43 per cent of the total votes cast, against president Jammeh’s 40 per cent.

The new president was expected to be inaugurated at the end of January 2017.

A spokesman for the coalition called for calm in a brief statement.

The head of the coalition transition team, Mr Mai Ahmed Fatty said: “We are working round the clock to restore sanity. The world is with us.”

In a strongly-worded statement, the Senegalese Foreign ministry also urged the Gambian authorities to respect the will of the people, calling on the regional blocs, Ecowas and the African Union, as well as the United Nation, to take all measures to protect the sovereignty of the Gambian people. </s> GAMBIAN leader Yahya Jammeh has rejected the result of the presidential election held earlier this month, a week after admitting defeat.

Speaking on state TV, Mr Jammeh cited “abnormalities” in the vote and called for fresh elections.

Mr Jammeh, who came to power in a coup in 1994, suffered a shock defeat to Adama Barrow, who won more than 45 percent of the vote.

“This action is a reprehensible and unacceptable breach of faith with the people of The Gambia and an egregious attempt to undermine a credible election process and remain in power illegitimately,” said state department spokesman Mark Toner.

Mr Barrow, a property developer, is due to take office in late January. Mai Ahmad Fatty, the head of his transition team, told Reuters they were “consulting on what to do”, adding: “As far as we are concerned, the people have voted. We will maintain peace and stability and not let anyone provoke us into violence.”

The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, with a population of fewer than two million.
• The man in charge for 22 years

Mr Jammeh said that he now rejected the results of the election “in totality”.

“After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election,” Mr Jammeh said.

“I lament serious and unacceptable abnormalities which have reportedly transpired during the electoral process.

“I recommend fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a God-fearing and independent electoral commission.”

Yahya Jammeh appeared on state TV brandishing a document supposedly proving irregularities when the votes were tallied last week.

Mr Jammeh said the results were unacceptable. He said figures had been transposed swelling the number of votes in favour of his opponent, Adama Barrow, whom he recognised as president-elect live on television after the election results were announced.

Over the past week people have been celebrating the end of his 22-year-long rule but tonight The Gambia’s future looks uncertain again.

The government in neighbouring Senegal condemned the move and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye, speaking on national television, urged President Jammeh to respect the election result.

A Human Rights Watch spokesman also said it was “deeply concerned”.

“The international community, notably [regional bloc] Ecowas and the African Union, should loudly protest any unlawful attempt to subvert the will of the Gambian people,” said Babatunde Olugboji, deputy programme director.

The streets of the capital, Banjul, were reported to be calm on Friday night although soldiers were seen placing sandbags in strategic locations across the city, AFP news agency reports.

Only last week, Mr Jammeh was shown on state TV calling Mr Barrow to wish him well.

“You are the elected president of The Gambia, and I wish you all the best. I have no ill will,” he said at the time.

According to the electoral commission, the result of the vote on 1 December was:

In his 22 years in power, Mr Jammeh acquired a reputation as a ruthless leader.

Ahead of the election, Human Rights Watch accused him of using violence to silence critics. The group said two activists had died in custody and dozens of people had been jailed and denied medical or legal help. bbc.com

Follow us on Twitter on @FingazLive and on Facebook – The Financial Gazette </s> The United Nations Security Council on Saturday condemned Gambia President Yahya Jammeh's rejection of election results announced last week that saw him lose power after 22 years, and it urged all parties to refrain from violence.

"(Security Council members) called on him to respect the choice of the sovereign People of The Gambia, as he did on 2 December 2016, and to transfer, without condition and undue delay, power to the President-elect, Mr. Adama Barrow," it said in a statement. </s> DAKAR, Senegal -- Gambia's president-elect said Saturday that the outgoing leader who now rejects his defeat has no constitutional authority to call for another election, and he called on President Yahya Jammeh to help with a smooth transition in the interest of the tiny West African country.

Jammeh's reversal late Friday came more than a week after tens of thousands took to the streets in celebration, shouting "Freedom!" after Adama Barrow was announced as the president-elect.

The United States and others quickly rejected Jammeh's new stance, and the African Union on Saturday called for security forces to remain neutral. Soldiers were in the streets of the capital, Banjul, as Gambians closed down shops in fear of unrest.

Barrow said the Independent Electoral Commission is the only competent authority to declare a winner.

Jammeh, whose 22-year rule has been marked by repeated accusations of human-rights abuses, said he is rejecting the results of the presidential election because investigations have revealed a number of voting irregularities.

The head of the electoral commission, Alieu Momarr Njai, would not comment on whether Jammeh had filed a formal challenge to the vote.

On Saturday, Barrow recalled Jammeh's telephone call Dec. 2 to concede defeat. State television had filmed a jovial Jammeh making the call.

Isatou Touray, a member of Gambia's opposition coalition, called on Jammeh to step down immediately.

"This is a rape on democracy, you must all stay calm, put on your lenses, be vigilant and do not retreat," Touray posted on her official Facebook page.

Information for this article was contributed by Krista Larson, Abdoulie John and staff members of The Associated Press and by Jaime Yaya Barry and Dionne Searcey of The New York Times. </s> The Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, has reportedly backtracked over his resolve to hand over power to his successor, Adama Barrow, after ruling the West African nation for 22 solid years. In a speech broadcast on the state-owned television, the coup maker, turned constitutionally elected leader, claimed investigations since the December 1 election have revealed to him, a number of voting irregularities, which is unacceptable.

“I hereby reject the results in totality. Let me repeat: I will not accept the results based on what has happened,” he said. The constitutional dictator's rejection of the results comes barely a week after he had called Adama Barrow to concede defeat and promised to hand over power peacefully. “You are the elected president of The Gambia, and I wish you all the best,” Jammeh told Barrow at the time, adding, “I have no ill will.”

After seizing power in 1994, at the age of just 29, and forcing prominent citizens into exile, the despot ruled The Gambia with an iron fist until he decided to drop the army garb for that of a civilian leader. Since then, he has won several disputed elections, but, in the name of sovereignty, nobody said anything about him. Now after losing the December election and accepting defeat, this tyrant has decided to eat back his words, and is now saying he would no more accept the election results.

The Chronicle finds the conduct of Yahya Jammeh unacceptable and a complete disgrace to the already battered image of Africa when it comes to democracy. The Gambia is not the personal property of Jammah and his family, but a state whose sovereignty resides in the people, and the latter have decided that they no more need him as their leader. He cannot, therefore, arrogate to himself the powers to annul election results, without recourse to Gambian laws.

The Chronicle is, therefore, calling on the African Union, United Nations, European Union, and United States of America (USA) to start diplomatic talks with this dictator calling himself president, and prevail upon him to hand over power peacefully to Adama Barrow, the president-elect.

Should the diplomatic talks fail, these states and institutions, we have mentioned above, especially Britain, the former colonial ruler, should move in and use military force to remove Jammeh from power.

The Chronicle is surprised at the British foreign policy towards its former colonies. The Queen's people appear not to care about what goes on in their former colonies, though we admit that these former colonies are now independent states.

The Chronicle is not knocking the heads of both Britain and France together, but if this nonsense going in The Gambia had happened in any French speaking country, France would have moved in quickly to stop it.

In 1997, it had to take the intervention of ECOWAS, led by Nigeria, to restore former Sierra Leonean leader Ahmad Kabbah back to power, after he was overthrown by a junta group led by Johnny Koroma.

Britain, which boasts of having colonised countries in Africa including Sierra Leone, did not see the need to intervene and stop the bloodshed going on in its former colony.

In recent years, France has made interventions in Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso among others, which saved these countries from sliding into civil war, but when it comes to English-speaking countries, Britain has always failed to act decisively. Yahya Jammeh, a man who even claimed at a point in time that he could cure AIDS, is gradually sending The Gambia into civil war, and should these world leaders sit aloof and allow him to plunge the country into chaos before living up to their responsibilities?

As the adage goes, when persuasion fails, force must be applied. Yahya Jammeh, we insist, must be removed from power through military intervention if negotiations for him to hand over fail. Africa is tired of this Stone Age conduct of some of its leaders, and the time to act is now! </s> Longtime Gambian ruler now refuses to step aside

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Gambia's ruler of more than 22 years announced late Friday that he no longer accepts defeat in the country's presidential election, reversing course a week after he conceded to his rival.

In a speech on state television, President Yahya Jammeh said that investigations since the Dec. 1 vote have revealed a number of voting irregularities that he called unacceptable.

"I hereby reject the results in totality," he said in his address that aired late Friday. "Let me repeat: I will not accept the results based on what has happened."

In a Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 file photo, Gambia's president Yahya Jammeh shows his inked finger before voting in Banjul, Gambia. Gambia's ruler of more than 22 years now says he won't accept defeat in the presidential election, reversing course a week after he conceded defeat. In a speech on state television aired late Friday, Dec. 9, 2016,, President Yahya Jammeh said that investigations had revealed voting irregularities that he called unacceptable. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Only one week ago, a jovial Jammeh was filmed on state television calling opposition candidate Adama Barrow to wish him the best.

"You are the elected president of The Gambia, and I wish you all the best," Jammeh told Barrow at the time. "I have no ill will."

The dramatic about-face was certain to spark outrage among the opposition and the tens of thousands of Gambians living in exile abroad. Already in the week since Jammeh had been defeated, several dozen political prisoners had been released on bail.

"We are deeply concerned by reports of belated objections to the Gambian election results raised by President Jammeh," said Babatunde Olugboji, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. "The international community, notably (regional bloc) ECOWAS and the African Union, should loudly protest any unlawful attempt to subvert the will of the Gambian people."

The U.S. government also condemned Jammeh's rejection of the election result, calling it an attempt to remain in power illegitimately.

"The people have spoken and it is time for Gambians to come together to ensure a peaceful transition to President-elect Barrow," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner in a statement.

It remained unclear whether the tiny country of 1.9 million people would accept Jammeh's continued rule. As news spread last week of his defeat, Gambians took to the streets — singing, dancing and shouting "Freedom!"

Under Jammeh's rule, the country surrounded almost entirely by Senegal has become notorious for its abysmal human rights record as well as the president's erratic behavior.

The Jammeh regime has long been accused of imprisoning, torturing and killing its opponents, according to human rights groups. He also has issued increasingly virulent statements against sexual minorities, vowing to slit the throats of gay men.

In 2007, Jammeh claimed to have developed a cure for AIDS that involved an herbal body rub and bananas. Alarming public health experts, he insisted patients stop taking antiretroviral medications so his remedy could have an effect.

He also has increasingly isolated Gambia, whose economy has long been dependent on tourism. In 2013 he exited the Commonwealth, a group made up mostly of former British colonies, branding it a "neo-colonial institution." And in October, Jammeh said Gambia would leave the International Criminal Court, which he dismissed as the 'International Caucasian Court.'"

In his speech Friday, Jammeh said some figures in the results had been transposed and that voter turnout had been suppressed.
The president of Senegal urges The Gambia's fallen dictator Yahya Jammeh to respect the result of the polls.