Connect with us

Breaking News

Gambian Yahya Jammeh Loses Presidential Election By 50,000 Votes

Published

on

The President of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, has lost the country’s presidential election to leading opposition candidate, Adama Barrow.

Mr. Barrow scored 263,515 votes to defeat Mr. Jammeh who scored 212,099 votes, the electoral commission chief said.

The Gambia’s minister of external affairs and the head of the police addressed the nation country and called for calm, the BBC reports.

Mr. Jammeh has ruled The Gambia for 22 years after taking power in a coup.

The controversial ruler of the small West African country is expected to concede defeat.

A political novice whose lack of baggage has endeared him to Gambians, the businessman represents a coalition of parties seeking to cause an upset in the tiny West African nation on Thursday.

“It’s very clear, the writing is on the wall that I’m going to win,” the 51-year-old told AFP by telephone before voting, perhaps mindful that, in politics, a measure of confidence is essential on polling day.

Later, referring to President Yahya Jammeh, who has ruled the country for 22 years, Barrow added: “If he loses, let him concede defeat. And we know he is going to lose.”

Barrow was a political unknown six months ago.

A burly yet quietly-spoken man, he was thrust into the limelight following the jailing of top officials from the United Democratic Party (UDP) in July.

Seven Gambian political parties and an independent candidate opted to join forces and field a unifying figure, opting for Barrow.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *