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<p>CNBC Africa sat down with the President of the Chamber of Commerce Muhammed Jagana, on how private sector can fast-track growth.</p>


Private sector key to economic growth – Gambia Chamber of Commerce

<p><em><span class="fn author-name">Franzisca Zanker |</span> Freiburg University</em></p>
<p>Hardly a day goes by without a discussion on the migrants (including refugees) who have entered Europe in large numbers since 2015. Under the European Union Commission’s New Partnership Framework launched in 2016, one of the major short-term objectives is to ‘increase the rate of returns to countries of origin’, and last week, the president of the EU Commission announced a ‘more effective EU policy on return’. That said, return is tricky. It is unclear how effective it is in deterring future migration. And it may even have detrimental effects on the countries of origin. Take the Gambia for example.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-288182 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Refugees_on_a_boat_Wikimedia1.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365" /></p>
<p>Gambians were among the top nationalities leaving West Africa for Italy in 2016. In total 11,929  Gambians arrived last year. But because they have a new democratically-elected government, European countries are now looking to increase the returns of Gambian migrants. A Working Party on Integration, Migration and Expulsion has already met at the European Council to discuss a draft agreement on returns between the EU and the Gambia.</p>
<p>A key element of return to the Gambia is the role that returnees can play once they are back and how well accepted they will be. Without a thriving labour market such reintegration will be challenging and at worst could lead to conflict among a group of frustrated young men.</p>
<h2>Difficulty of reintegrating economically</h2>
<p>The first challenge for returnees is that their chances of employment once they’re back in The Gambia remains slim. General unemploymentis at 29.8%, and for youth it is estimated to be 38.5%.</p>
<p>Efforts are being made to tackle the root causes of migration by creating jobs. For example, new development projects are being launched in the Gambia including a 13-million-dollar EU Emergency Trust Fund project. This is a good start, but the project has just been launched and will take time to implement. It has also been criticised for a lack of ownership, with the implementing agent, the International Trade Centre, based in Dakar.</p>
<p>A further EU-funded regional re-integration project is also in the pipeline. Initiatives like this are very much in line with the incentives policy contained in the European Partnership Framework.</p>
<p>But is the money being used wisely? Reintegrating also needs to be visible at a societal and political level.</p>
<p>Rumours that government ministers have signed repatriation agreements in return for development funds are rife. Even though the rumours have been consistently denied they point to the fact that economic redevelopment has been heavily politicised.</p>
<p>This doesn’t help individual migrants who still need viable opportunities to reestablish themselves. Otherwise there is little reason not to emigrate again. At worst the frustration of returnees could lead to conflict.</p>
<h2>The potential for conflict</h2>
<p>Large numbers of young men returning without prospects of employment could have security implications for the young democracy. Though voluntary returns will be prioritised, a considerable number of cases are likely to be involuntary.</p>
<p>The potentially explosive levels of frustration already hold true for returnees from Libya. Since March 2017, the International Organisation for Migration has sought to voluntarily return Gambians home from Libya. In August, it identified 1,979 Gambians living in Libya.</p>
<p>By September 2017, 1,119 Gambians had been returned. When a focus group of 15 were questioned in a recent study, they said that they returned because of the gravity of their situation in detention centres in Libya, and to a degree, by the hope that things would be different in the new Gambia.</p>
<p>But the returnees were increasingly frustrated. Firstly, they were angry at returning home empty-handed. When they agreed to return they were under the impression that they would get reintegration funds from the International Organisation for Migration. But only the most vulnerable returnees received any.</p>
<p>And returnees felt abandoned by the new government. Again, they were under the impression that government representatives would welcome them home in person and give them a chance to voice their concerns.</p>
<p>During the focus group, one discussant concluded:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>if this happens to continue, then we can do something crazy.</em></p></blockquote>
<h2>Slow and well-managed returns</h2>
<p>Despite the political pressure for returns, European countries need to make sure they allow for a slow and well-managed process. This includes skills-training prior to return &#8211; and not just for refugees. This would allow a country like Gambia to create more employment opportunities in order to successfully reintegrate those who come back.</p>
<p>Those who have already returned need to be given a constructive and peaceful outlet for their grievances. Ultimately, to ensure successful repatriation returnees need to be represented politically so that they can have a stake in the future development of their country. In that way, the shame in returning home empty-handed might be easier to deal with. Otherwise, there will only be further (re)migration at a great humanitarian cost.</p>


Returning migrants to The Gambia: the political, social and economic costs

<p><strong><span class="fn author-name">Sarah Logan | </span>Economist, International Growth Centre</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Critical elections are being held in Rwanda and Kenya. In Rwanda, the incumbent Paul Kagame will face Frank Habineza, of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and independent candidate Philippe Mpanyimana.</p>
<p>In Kenya, Raila Odinga, representing an umbrella opposition party, the National Super Alliance, will challenge incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Party.</p>
<p>Some controversy already mars both polls. Victoire Ingabire, considered the strongest opposition leader in Rwanda, remains jailed for threatening state security. The Rwandan constitution was also recently amended to allow Kagame to run for a third term and to potentially rule until 2034.</p>
<p>In Kenya, there’s been considerable criticism of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the body running the election. Issues have included the reliability of the technology being used and the alleged partiality of the commission’s former leadership. And the recent printing of 1.2 million extra ballot papers has raised suspicions of planned vote rigging. The torture and murder of Christopher Msando, the commission’s head of information and technology, has further increased concerns.</p>
<div id="attachment_268267" style="width: 346px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-268267" class="wp-image-268267 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Raila_Odinga_Elections_Wikimedia.jpg" alt="" width="336" height="504" /><p id="caption-attachment-268267" class="wp-caption-text">Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga: Wikimedia</p></div>
<p>With their frequent irregularities, it’s easy to become cynical about elections in Africa. But we must fight our scepticism and indifference because elections continue to be an extremely important component of the continent’s growing democracy.</p>
<h2>Elections and democracy</h2>
<p>While elections alone are insufficient for democracy, they are nevertheless a prerequisite. This is because they promote political participation and competition needed for democracy. It’s the failure or absence of elections that largely defines dictatorships.</p>
<p>Other prerequisites for democracy include:</p>
<ul>
<li>checks on executive power,</li>
<li>civilian control of the military,</li>
<li>civil rights and due process, and</li>
<li>an independent media and active civil society.</li>
</ul>
<p>Since the early 1990s, elections in Africa have, on the whole, become increasingly free and fair. A number of factors have contributed to this. The effectiveness of electoral governance – institutions and regulatory norms – has been the most important. The legitimacy of elections depends on clear procedural rules.</p>
<p>Studies have found that the electoral management boards are the most significant indicators of the quality of electoral governance. In particular, whether a board is autonomous of government is crucial. Very few African countries inherited autonomous electoral management boards at independence. But, in line with global trends, their prevalence has been rising.</p>
<p>By 2002 more than half of African electoral management boards were fully autonomous, 29% were semi-autonomous, and only 20% weren’t autonomous.</p>
<p>International election observation has also contributed to elections becoming more free and fair. Their presence can reduce fraud and increase domestic confidence in the process. Inviting international observers to monitor an election has now become a necessary conditionfor an election to be considered internationally legitimate. Refusal to do so is almost akin to admitting electoral fraud.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Long-term observers begin work months ahead of an election. This is because free and fair elections depend a great deal on what happens before voting day. In fact, vote buying and political intimidation before polling day are more common than disputes over vote counting or polling procedures.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Free media and active citizens</h2>
<p>A free media and active civil society continue to play an indispensable oversight role. This includes keeping institutions honest and keeping people informed.</p>
<p>A study in Sierra Leone showed that election debates between parliamentary candidates were very effective. Recorded debates between local parliamentary candidates were shown in numerous villages.</p>
<p>An evaluation of their impact showed that watching the election debates substantially increased viewers’ political knowledge. It also made it more likely that they would vote along policy (rather than ethnic) lines. Electedpoliticians who had been involved in the debates also tended to invest more in their constituencies, and to visit them more often.</p>
<h2>Civil society</h2>
<p>Civil society has a particular role in promoting a peaceful electoral environment. Its role is particularly crucial where tensions are high. Non-partisan citizen observers and monitoring groups, such as the West Africa Election Observers Network, are increasingly involved in election monitoring. Some of the results have been impressive. For example, a coalition of observers in Ghana trained and deployed about 4000 people to cover the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.</p>
<p>Regional blocs have also been important in strengthening democracy by enforcing electoral outcomes. A good example was when the Economic Community of West African States stepped in after the Gambian president Yahya Jammeh refused to leave office after losing the 2016 election. The regional body’s commitment to remove him by force if necessary was highly commendable.</p>
<p>Its influence can also be seen in the fact that 14 out of its 15 member states have presidents who have been in office for less than two terms. The Economic Community of West African States should serve as a model to other regional blocs.</p>
<h2>Making Africans polls free and fair</h2>
<p>A great deal of progress has been made on improving political participation across the continent. But genuine political competition in elections remains a challenge. More work is still needed to remove biases in favour of incumbents. Another area that needs work is lifting restrictions on access to state-controlled media by opposition parties.</p>
<p>And for democracy to be strengthened further a number of players have to take an active role. This includes governments, opposition parties, the media, citizens, civil society and the international community.</p>


Why elections matter for democracy in Africa. The cases of Kenya and Rwanda

<p>Following the resolution of the political impasse in The Gambia, a great deal of attention has focused on the role played by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). The regional body brought a swift end to the potentially explosive crisis sparked by the refusal of former President Yahya Jammeh to hand over to the newly elected Adama Barrow.<br />
Jammeh’s flight to exile was preceded by weeks of diplomacy to persuade him to hand over power peacefully. When this failed regional troops and military assets were mobilised to install Barrow forcibly. The rest is history. Barrow is now officially in the presidential seat.<br />
This resounding success, unrivalled by any African regional organisation, has taken decades to craft. It is remarkable to think that at its inception in 1975, joint military action was not even on the cards.<br />
The fractious 1960s<br />
By the close of the early 1960s most countries in the West African sub-region had gained political freedom from colonial powers. They adopted a variety of political systems including multiparty democracy, one-party civilian administrations and military autocracies. The region developed quite a reputation for military coups. There were more in the region than anywhere else on the continent.<br />
Initial attempts to form Ecowas floundered in the early 1960s. This was due largely to the differences between Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, and Nigeria’s first prime minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, on the kind of integration necessary for the states in the region.<br />
The fall of these two personalities from power in 1966 did not end the political rivalries in the region. Attempts at integration were further delayed by the civil war in Nigeria between 1967 and 1970. Its aftermath further affected any chances at integration due to the struggle over the supremacy of the West African region between Nigeria and Côte d&#8217;Ivoire along Anglo-Francophone lines.<br />
Eventually two influential military leaders – Generals Yakubu Gowon of Nigeria and Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo – formed the nucleus of Ecowas in the 1970s. They succeeded in bringing on board the other military leaders of Dahomey (now Benin), Ghana and Niger among others. This explains the dominant role of the military in the life of the organisation.<br />
Ecowas was eventually formed on May 28 1975, in Nigeria as a regional economic grouping of 15 states. Membership went up to 16 when Cape Verde joined in 1976. But it declined again to 15 when Mauritania withdrew in December 2000.<br />
The Ecowas Treaty of 1975 envisaged the group as an economic community with the aim of promoting<br />
cooperation and development in all fields of economic activity.<br />
The grouping saw its role as raising the living standards of people in the region, increasing and maintaining economic stability, fostering closer relations among its members and contributing to the progress and development of the continent.<br />
It is significant that no reference was made to defence or security in any of the treaty’s 65 articles.<br />
How did the economic bloc blossom into a dominant sub-regional peace and security organisation in Africa?<br />
The need for a security organisation<br />
When Ecowas was formed in 1975 only Nigeria had experienced a civil war. But there was an increase in the number of violent conflicts after the late 1980s.<br />
Several factors contributed to the intractability and complexity of violent conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Côte d&#8217;Ivoire. These included the effects of the Cold War, economic malaise, human rights abuses and political rivalries and interests of states in the region. The conflicts had deleterious implications for peace and security of the region.<br />
The effect of the civil wars was that some states became places for recruiting disenchanted unemployed youth into various armed banditry groups. They pillaged the region for natural resources and committed heinous war related crimes.<br />
Ecowas was formed at a time when power vacillated between civilian and military rulers in the region. The period was characterised by governments accusing one another of supporting dissidents. There were also accusations of domestic problems being instigated externally.<br />
Against this backdrop, the treaty was revised in 1993. The “Revised Treaty” allowed the promulgation of protocols to regulate the peace and security architecture of member states.<br />
The peace and security architecture of Ecowas<br />
The first protocol promulgated was a nonaggression pact signed on April 28 1978 in Lagos, Nigeria. The region’s leaders present noted that the community<br />
cannot attain its objective save in an atmosphere of peace and harmonious understanding among Community members.<br />
This marked the beginning of future steps by member states to address security matters in the region. But the protocol proved inadequate against either external attacks or intrastate conflicts which were becoming more frequent. This led to the mutual assistance in defence protocol being passed.<br />
This was signed in May 1981 despite fervent opposition from Mali, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. It did not create a standing army but provisions were made for joint action in the event of any security threat to a member state through a voluntary contribution of troops. These were referred to as the Allied Armed Forces of the Community.<br />
But the reliance on troop contributions from member states was a major challenge. This was because by the time troops were assembled the violence would have escalated.<br />
These and many other bottlenecks, in particular, the harrowing experiences of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (Ecomog) in Liberia and Sierra Leone, led to the next big step. Which is why in 1999 a mechanism for conflict prevention, management, resolution, peacekeeping and security was agreed.<br />
Current peace and security framework<br />
The 1999 protocol put in place comprehensive structures and processes that have to be followed in the event of conflict breaking out.<br />
The mechanism makes provision for diplomatic and military interventions. It empowers regional leaders to decide on the deployment of political and military missions.<br />
Ecowas has a standby force in member countries which can be deployed rapidly to prevent conflicts from escalating. The rapid deployment of troops from Nigeria and The Gambia’s neighbour Senegal in the recent deadlock is a case in point.<br />
Other protocols relating to the prevention, management and resolution of conflict make up a significant part of the regional peace and security architecture. These include a supplementary protocol on democracy and good governance adopted in 2001.<br />
There are a number of other security related structures. These include an early warning system and a mediation and security council which advises the authority of heads of state and government. In addition, there are offices of the special representatives, a council of elders and special mediators.<br />
But the challenge of preventing conflicts from escalating remained. To meet this challenge, a conflict prevention framework was agreed in 2008. This enabled the regional powers to harness human and financial resources from other important players such as private and civil society organisations.<br />
A major challenge that now remains is the financial burden associated with political and military missions. But with its long history of meeting its challenges full square, there is every chance Ecowas will make a success of that, too.</p>


How West Africa built the muscle to rout dictators and keep the peace

<p>Following the resolution of the political impasse in The Gambia, a great deal of attention has focused on the role played by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). The regional body brought a <a style="font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400;" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/22/gambias-defeated-leader-yahya-jammeh-goes-exile/">swift end</a> to the potentially explosive crisis sparked by the refusal of former President Yahya Jammeh to hand over to the newly elected Adama Barrow.</p>
<p>Jammeh’s flight to exile was preceded by weeks of diplomacy to persuade him to hand over power peacefully. When this failed regional troops and military assets were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/19/new-gambian-leader-adama-barrow-sworn-in-at-ceremony-in-senegal">mobilised</a> to install Barrow forcibly. The rest is history. Barrow is now officially in the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/gambia-president-adama-barrow-pledges-reforms-170128194124520.html">presidential seat</a>.</p>
<p>This resounding success, unrivalled by any African regional organisation, has taken decades to craft. It is remarkable to think that <a href="http://www.internationaldemocracywatch.org/index.php/economic-community-of-west-african-states-">at its inception in 1975</a>, joint military action was not even on the cards.</p>
<h2>The fractious 1960s</h2>
<p>By the close of the early 1960s most countries in the West African sub-region had gained political freedom from colonial powers. They adopted a variety of political systems including multiparty democracy, one-party civilian administrations and military autocracies. The region developed quite a reputation for <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/04/why-are-there-so-many-coups-west-africa/329209/">military coups</a>. There were more in the region than anywhere else on the continent.</p>
<p>Initial attempts to form Ecowas floundered in the early 1960s. This was due largely to the differences between Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, and Nigeria’s first prime minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, on the kind of integration necessary for the states in the region.</p>
<p>The fall of these two personalities from power in 1966 did not end the political rivalries in the region. Attempts at integration were further delayed by the civil war in Nigeria between 1967 and 1970. Its aftermath further affected any chances at integration due to the struggle over the supremacy of the West African region between Nigeria and Côte d&#8217;Ivoire along Anglo-Francophone lines.</p>
<p>Eventually two influential military leaders – Generals Yakubu Gowon of Nigeria and Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo – formed the nucleus of Ecowas in the 1970s. They succeeded in bringing on board the other military leaders of Dahomey (now Benin), Ghana and Niger among others. This explains the dominant role of the military in the life of the organisation.</p>
<p>Ecowas was eventually formed on May 28 1975, in Nigeria as a regional economic grouping of 15 states. Membership went up to 16 when Cape Verde joined in 1976. But it declined again to 15 when Mauritania withdrew in December 2000.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.internationaldemocracywatch.org/attachments/351_ecowas%20treaty%20of%201975.pdf">Ecowas Treaty of 1975</a> envisaged the group as an economic community with the aim of promoting</p>
<blockquote>
<p>cooperation and development in all fields of economic activity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The grouping saw its role as raising the living standards of people in the region, increasing and maintaining economic stability, fostering closer relations among its members and contributing to the progress and development of the continent.</p>
<p>It is significant that no reference was made to defence or security in any of the treaty’s 65 articles.</p>
<p>How did the economic bloc blossom into a dominant sub-regional peace and security organisation in Africa?</p>
<h2>The need for a security organisation</h2>
<p>When Ecowas was formed in 1975 only Nigeria had experienced a <a href="https://oldnaija.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/the-nigerian-civil-war/">civil war</a>. But there was an increase in the number of violent conflicts after the late 1980s.</p>
<p>Several factors contributed to the intractability and complexity of violent conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Côte d&#8217;Ivoire. These included the effects of the Cold War, economic malaise, human rights abuses and political rivalries and interests of states in the region. The conflicts had deleterious implications for peace and security of the region.</p>
<p>The effect of the civil wars was that some states became places for recruiting disenchanted unemployed youth into various armed banditry groups. They pillaged the region for natural resources and committed heinous war related crimes.</p>
<p>Ecowas was formed at a time when power vacillated between civilian and military rulers in the region. The period was characterised by governments accusing one another of supporting dissidents. There were also accusations of domestic problems being instigated externally.</p>
<p>Against this backdrop, the treaty was revised in 1993. The “Revised Treaty” allowed the promulgation of protocols to regulate the peace and security architecture of member states.</p>
<h2>The peace and security architecture of Ecowas</h2>
<p>The first protocol promulgated was a nonaggression pact signed on April 28 1978 in Lagos, Nigeria. The region’s leaders present noted that the community</p>
<blockquote>
<p>cannot attain its objective save in an atmosphere of peace and harmonious understanding among Community members.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This marked the beginning of future steps by member states to address security matters in the region. But the protocol proved inadequate against either external attacks or intrastate conflicts which were becoming more frequent. This led to the mutual assistance in defence protocol being passed.</p>
<p>This was signed in May 1981 despite fervent opposition from Mali, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. It did not create a standing army but provisions were made for joint action in the event of any security threat to a member state through a voluntary contribution of troops. These were referred to as the Allied Armed Forces of the Community.</p>
<p>But the reliance on troop contributions from member states was a major challenge. This was because by the time troops were assembled the violence would have escalated.</p>
<p>These and many other bottlenecks, in particular, the harrowing experiences of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (Ecomog) in Liberia and Sierra Leone, led to the next big step. Which is why in 1999 a <a href="http://www.wanep.org/wanep/attachments/article/101/tp_ecowas_subregional_peacekeeping.pdf">mechanism</a> for conflict prevention, management, resolution, peacekeeping and security was agreed.</p>
<h2>Current peace and security framework</h2>
<p>The 1999 protocol put in place comprehensive structures and processes that have to be followed in the event of conflict breaking out.</p>
<p>The mechanism makes provision for diplomatic and military interventions. It empowers regional leaders to decide on the deployment of political and military missions.</p>
<p>Ecowas has a standby force in member countries which can be deployed rapidly to prevent conflicts from escalating. The rapid deployment of troops from Nigeria and The Gambia’s neighbour Senegal in the recent deadlock is a case in point.</p>
<p>Other protocols relating to the prevention, management and resolution of conflict make up a significant part of the regional peace and security architecture. These include a supplementary protocol on democracy and good governance adopted in 2001.</p>
<p>There are a number of other security related structures. These include an early warning system and a mediation and security council which advises the authority of heads of state and government. In addition, there are offices of the special representatives, a council of elders and special mediators.</p>
<p>But the challenge of preventing conflicts from escalating remained. To meet this challenge, a conflict prevention framework was agreed in 2008. This enabled the regional powers to harness <a href="http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/womenandjustice/upload/ECOWAS-Conflict-Prevention-Framework.pdf">human and financial resources</a> from other important players such as private and civil society organisations.</p>
<p>A major challenge that now remains is the financial burden associated with political and military missions. But with its long history of meeting its challenges full square, there is every chance Ecowas will make a success of that, too.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/71688/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" height="1" alt="The Conversation"/></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/abdul-jalilu-ateku-159513">Abdul-Jalilu Ateku</a>, PhD Candidate in International Relations, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-nottingham-1192">University of Nottingham</a></em></p>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-west-africa-built-the-muscle-to-rout-dictators-and-keep-the-peace-71688">original article</a>.</p>


How West Africa built the muscle to rout dictators

<p>African judges due to help Gambia&#8217;s supreme court hear a challenge by President Yahya Jammeh&#8217;s electoral defeat last December failed to show up on Tuesday, forcing the chief justice to adjourn the session.</p>
<p>Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle delayed the hearing until Jan. 16, meaning the court will hear the challenge filed by Jammeh&#8217;s ruling APRC party only two days before the end of the long-ruling president&#8217;s mandate.</p>
<p>Legal sources said the foreign judges named to the court have not yet arrived in the West African country.</p>
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<p>Outside the courtroom, hundreds of people wearing green for the ruling APRC put on a show of support not seen since the polls for the eccentric and repressive ruler. Jammeh initially accepted his defeat but later questioned its validity.</p>
<p>&#8220;No to cheating,&#8221; the crowd chanted, echoing Jammeh&#8217;s speech rejecting the poll outcome.</p>
<p>The legal challenge has shone a rare light on the idiosyncrasies of Gambia&#8217;s legal system, which opponents say has long been manipulated by Jammeh.</p>
<p>The supreme court has not sat in over a year, partly because would-be judges are too afraid of being confronted with unpredictable charges themselves. Two chief justices have been dismissed since 2013, one of them being arrested and jailed.</p>
<p>Because of this, the court hired four foreign judges from Nigeria and Sierra Leone to hear the appeal. But the absence on Tuesday of these &#8220;mercenary judges&#8221;, as the opposition calls them, raised questions about that option as well.</p>
<p>A document seen by Reuters and signed by Nigeria&#8217;s acting chief justice said that the timing of the extraordinary January session was &#8220;unfavourable&#8221;. Gambia&#8217;s supreme court normally sits in May and November.</p>
<p>Fagbenle confirmed the document and said he had received a similar one from the chief justice in Sierra Leone.</p>
<p>The question of whether the tiny country can overcome its current political impasse and instate President-Elect Adama Barrow next week is seen as a test case for African democracy in a region used to coups and autocratic rule.</p>
<p>The presidents of Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia will visit Jammeh on Wednesday in a second attempt to press him to hand over power.</p>
<p>While many Gambians as well as Western powers have publicly called for Jammeh to step aside, and even hinted at removing him by force, the army and most of the cabinet have remained loyal.</p>
<p>Many Gambians are afraid of Jammeh&#8217;s brutal security forces, who have been accused of locking up hundreds of opponents during his 22-year rule. Others believe he has mystical powers.</p>
<p>Jammeh boasts that he can cure both AIDS and infertility through herbal medicine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Reporting by Lamin Jahateh; Writing by Emma Farge; Editing by Tom Heneghan)﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Gambia's top court adjourns Jammeh's poll challenge

<p>Gambia&#8217;s communication minister, Sheriff Bojang, said on Monday he had left his post in the first high-profile Cabinet defection since President Yahya Jammeh refused to accept losing a December election.</p>
<p>Opposition leader Adama Barrow won the polls by a thin margin, sparking nationwide celebrations in the riverine nation wedged within its larger and freer neighbour, Senegal.﻿</p>
<p>But after initially conceding defeat, Jammeh changed his mind a week later and said his party would challenge the results in court.</p>
<p>In a statement sent to Reuters, Bojang said such efforts were &#8220;an attempt to subvert the express will of the Gambian electorate&#8221; and he urged others to join him.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Gambia has decided and we must accept and respect this decision,&#8221; he said, quoting a popular poster slogan which has been effaced by soldiers in the capital Banjul in recent weeks. Bojang confirmed the authenticity of the statement to Reuters via telephone from neighbouring Senegal.</p>
<p>The minister made headlines in October by announcing that Gambia intended to leave the International Criminal Court, calling it the &#8220;International Caucasian Court&#8221;.</p>
<p>Jammeh&#8217;s opponents hope Bojang&#8217;s departure might signal further departures from among allies within the country who retain control of the army and other state institutions.</p>
<p>Foreign Minister Neneh Macdouall Gaye resigned in December, though her decision attracted little publicity.</p>
<p>Many officials and businessmen have fled the country, fearing a crackdown by the former lieutenant who seized power at aged 29 in a 1994 coup and is accused by rights groups of jailing and killing his critics.﻿</p>
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Gambia minister defects amid political impasse

<p>ACCRA (Reuters) &#8211; Gambia&#8217;s electoral commission chairman has fled the country because he received threats after declaring President Yahya Jammeh the loser of a Dec. 1 election, a family member and a colleague said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>It was not known where Alieu Momar Njai might have gone.</p>
<p><strong>READ: </strong><a href="/news/western-africa/2017/01/03/gambia-radio-stations-shut-down/">Gambian security agents close radio stations amid post-election crisis</a></p>
<p>President-elect Adama Barrow won the vote and Jammeh conceded defeat but on Dec. 9 he said he would not step down &#8211; a change of heart that drew international condemnation.</p>
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<div class="teads-player">(Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Louise Ireland)﻿</div>
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Gambia electoral commissioner flees country

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<p>DAKAR Jan 2 (Reuters) &#8211; Gambian security agents closed three private radio stations near the capital, Banjul, amid an escalating political crisis triggered by President Yahya Jammeh&#8217;s refusal to accept his election defeat.</p>
<p><strong>READ: </strong><a href="/news/western-africa/2016/12/21/gambia-president-yahya-jammeh-election-defeat/">Gambia&#8217;s President refuses to hand over power &#8211; CNBC Africa</a></p>
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<p>Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, initially conceded defeat to opposition rival Adama Barrow in the Dec. 1 vote, but then called for a fresh poll, drawing condemnation from local opponents and foreign powers.</p>
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<p>The veteran leaders&#8217; refusal to step down has opened up the possibility of a military intervention by West African forces after the ECOWAS body said it was putting military forces on alert. Jammeh called that a &#8220;declaration of war&#8221;.</p>
<p>Emil Touray, head of the Gambia Press Union, said Teranga FM and Hilltop Radio were closed on Sunday, while an employee at Afri Radio, owned by Gambian phone company Africell, said its headquarters was shut down by four intelligence agents and a police officer on the same day.</p>
<p>A government spokesman initially said he could not confirm the closures and later did not answer his phone. Touray said he had no further details.</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear why the stations were targeted by Jammeh. The authorities may have taken aim at Afri Radio because the station announced details of Barrow&#8217;s inauguration, planned for Jan. 19, the Afri Radio journalist said.</p>
<p>The media has come under regular attack during Jammeh&#8217;s 22-year authoritarian rule, rights campaigners say, and he has often tried to control communications in the tiny country of 1.8 million. The internet was cut during election day, as were international phone calls.</p>
<p>Teranga FM, popular for its review of newspapers in the local wolof and mandinka languages, has been closed four times in recent years.</p>
<p><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="/news/western-africa/2016/12/19/gambia-vote-ecowas-president-yahya-jammeh/">ECOWAS to uphold Gambian vote despite Jammeh&#8217;s resistance﻿</a></p>
<p>The station&#8217;s managing director Alagie Ceesay was arrested in July, 2015, and charged with sedition. He was hospitalized twice in early 2016 while still in detention, Amnesty International said, and later fled to neighbouring Senegal.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is a slap in the face of the country&#8217;s democratic process,&#8221; said Touray. &#8220;People will not have access to information in this critical period of our history.&#8221;</p>
<p>Barrow&#8217;s election victory was seen as a surprising triumph for democracy in Gambia, which gained independence from Britain in 1965 but has since had only two presidents. But the elation seen on the streets of Banjul in the days after Barrow&#8217;s victory was quickly extinguished by Jammeh&#8217;s defiant stance. (Editing by Richard Lough)</p>
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Gambian security agents close radio stations amid post-election crisis

<p>ABUJA(Reuters) &#8211; The West African regional bloc said on Saturday it would take all necessary actions to uphold the result of a Dec. 1 election in Gambia, where veteran President Yahya Jammeh says he will not step down after losing to Adama Barrow.</p>
<p>ECOWAS leaders said in a communique marking the end of a summit in the Nigerian capital that they would attend the Jan. 18 inauguration of Barrow, &#8220;who must be sworn in&#8221;, and guarantee the safety of the president-elect.</p>
<p>Barrow&#8217;s surprise victory and Jammeh&#8217;s initial decision to step down was seen across Africa as a moment of hope.</p>
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<p>Jammeh announced on Dec. 9 that he would reverse that position and called for a fresh vote. That move was widely condemned, including by ECOWAS leaders who say it violates the principle of democratic accountability.</p>
<p>Jammeh&#8217;s party is now challenging the result in Gambia&#8217;s Supreme Court.</p>
<p>ECOWAS agreed to &#8220;respect the will of the Gambian people&#8221; and said the group had nominated Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to mediate.</p>
<p>&#8220;The authority (ECOWAS) shall undertake all necessary actions to enforce the result of the election,&#8221; the group added, calling on all stakeholders inside and outside the country to show restraint.</p>
<p>&#8220;(ECOWAS) calls on the Gambian defence and security to perform their role in a nationalistic manner and protect lives and property,&#8221; the final communique said.﻿</p>
<p>A Gambian delegation led by Works Minister Bala Garba Jahumpa had arrived while the summit was already in progress to affirm Jammeh&#8217;s stance, diplomats said.</p>
<p>ECOWAS measures could include sanctions, which could hurt Gambia because ECOWAS member Senegal is the country&#8217;s only neighbour.</p>
<p>Jammeh&#8217;s 22 years in power have been marked by allegations of human rights abuses and repression against perceived political opponents.</p>
<p>ECOWAS chairwoman Ellen Johnson Sirleaf went to Gambia this week accompanied by the leaders of several West African countries including Nigeria and Ghana, whose President John Mahama lost a Dec. 7 election and said he would step down.</p>
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<p>(Additional reporting by Paul Carsten; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Catherine Evans)﻿</p>
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ECOWAS to uphold Gambian vote despite Jammeh's resistance

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<p>DAKAR Dec 14 (Reuters) &#8211; The United Nations Special Representative for West Africa said on Wednesday that Gambia&#8217;s President Yahya Jammeh would be &#8220;strongly sanctioned&#8221; if he sought to remain in power after his mandate ends next month.</p>
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<div class="teads-player"><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="/news/western-africa/2016/12/14/gambias-jammeh-digs-in-as-regional-leaders-fail-to-reach-deal/">Regional leaders fail to reach deal with Gambia&#8217;s Jammeh﻿</a> </div>
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<p>Long-ruling Jammeh lost elections to little-known businessman Adama Barrow on Dec. 1 and conceded defeat in a widely celebrated moment of democratic hope for the continent.</p>
<p>But he has since changed his mind and his party is now challenging the outcome at Gambia&#8217;s Supreme Court, raising the prospect that it could be overturned.</p>
<p>&#8220;For Mr. Jammeh, the end is here and under no circumstances can he continue to be president,&#8221; the U.N.&#8217;s Mohammed Ibn Chambas told Reuters by telephone, a day after talks between Jammeh and regional leaders failed to reach a deal to have him step down.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Supreme Court decision has nothing to do with the five-year mandate,&#8221; he added.</p>
<p>He said Jammeh would be &#8220;strongly sanctioned&#8221; if he does not step down by the end of his mandate, which ends on Jan. 18.</p>
<p>Asked whether military intervention was an option following the failed mediation mission, he said: &#8220;It may not be necessary. Let&#8217;s cross that bridge when we get there.&#8221;</p>
<p>Jammeh&#8217;s U-turn on the election outcome has prompted strong criticism.</p>
<p>Chambas, who has been advising the mediators, said West African heads of state would discuss Gambia further at a meeting of regional body ECOWAS in Nigeria on Saturday. (Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Joe Bavier and Tom Heneghan)</p>
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Under no circumstances can Gambia's Jammeh continue to be president – UN envoy

<p>The United States said on Monday Gambia had reached &#8220;a very dangerous moment&#8221; as West African leaders prepared to travel there to tell long-ruling leader Yahya Jammeh to accept his election defeat and step down.</p>
<p>Jammeh had quickly conceded defeat to Adama Barrow, his challenger in the Dec. 1 presidential election. But in a volte-face that drew international condemnation he rejected the poll results on Friday.</p>
<p>His ruling party said he would challenge the election outcome at the Supreme Court, raising the prospect that Barrow&#8217;s victory, which was poised to end 22 years of Jammeh&#8217;s authoritarian rule, could be overturned.</p>
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<div class="teads-player" id="teads1">&#8220;It is a very dangerous moment,&#8221; Samantha Power, U.S. ambassdor to the United Nations, told reporters following a closed-door briefing of the 15-member Security Council on the situation in the tiny riverside nation.</div>
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<p>She said some military officers had sided with Jammeh following his shock reversal. But she added that the Council was unified in its condemnation of the former coup leader&#8217;s actions.</p>
<p>&#8220;Everybody is singing from the same sheet of music and the song is clear: you have lost the election, President Jammeh, and you must give up power peacefully,&#8221; Power said.</p>
<p>Liberia&#8217;s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate and current chair of the West African regional body ECOWAS, is due to travel to Gambia on Tuesday.</p>
<p>She will head a delegation of West African heads of state including Nigeria&#8217;s Muhammadu Buhari, John Mahama of Ghana and Sierra Leone&#8217;s Ernest Bai Koroma.</p>
<p>&#8220;These heads of state will ask him to leave power,&#8221; the foreign ministry of Gambia&#8217;s neighbour, Senegal, which has taken a particularly aggressive stance towards Jammeh, said in a statement. It called the trip &#8220;a last chance mission&#8221; for Gambia&#8217;s president.</p>
<p>The United States, European Union, African Union, United Nations and ECOWAS have all pressed Jammeh to respect the election result.</p>
<p>Gambia&#8217;s Communications Minister Sheriff Bojang was not reachable for comment on Monday.</p>
<p><strong>&#8220;WE WANT PEACE&#8221;</strong></p>
<p>Barrow told Reuters in the capital Banjul that he expected Johnson Sirleaf&#8217;s delegation to ensure an &#8220;expedited transitional period&#8221; that would pave the way for a transfer of power.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are not talking about a military option. We want to safeguard our democracy and we want peace,&#8221; he said, but added that he was concerned for his own safety.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have no official security. As president-elect, I should not be exposed in the way I am today,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Barrow said he had not had any communication with Jammeh&#8217;s government since the president&#8217;s televised announcement on Friday. Unarmed supporters surround his residence in the capital Banjul as protection and move with him when he leaves his home.</p>
<p>Jammeh seized power in a coup in 1994 when he was an army lieutenant and went on to win four elections that were criticised by rights monitors. International human rights groups accuse him of widespread violations and repression.</p>
<p>He declared Gambia an Islamic Republic last year and in October announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.</p>
<p>Rights groups say Jammeh exerts strong influence over the Supreme Court, which has not held session in a year and a half. There is currently only a sitting chief justice. And so in order to hear Jammeh&#8217;s complaint, legal experts believe at least four more judges must be appointed.</p>
<p>Gambia&#8217;s bar association on Monday rejected the prospect of a Supreme Court staffed with new appointees to hear Jammeh&#8217;s challenge and called on its members to boycott the country&#8217;s courts until he hands over power to president-elect Barrow.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the present circumstances, any Supreme Court empanelled by the outgoing President Jammeh for the purpose of hearing his election petition would be fundamentally tainted,&#8221; it said.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


U.S. labels Gambia crisis "very dangerous"

<p>Liberia&#8217;s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will lead a mission to Gambia on Tuesday to mediate in a crisis brought on by long-ruling President Yahya Jammeh&#8217;s refusal to step down, president-elect Adama Barrow said.</p>
<p>Jammeh had quickly conceded defeat to Barrow after a presidential election on Dec. 1. But in an about-face on Friday that drew international condemnation, he denounced the results.</p>
<p>He plans to contest the result at the Supreme Court, raising the prospect that a shock opposition victory that was poised to end 22 years of autocratic rule will be overturned.</p>
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<p>Barrow told Reuters on Monday that Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate and current chair of the West African regional organisation ECOWAS, would head a delegation representing the bloc as well as the United Nations and the African Union.</p>
<p>Neither the Liberian president&#8217;s office nor Gambian officials could be reached for comment.</p>
<p>The mission will meet with both Jammeh and the president-elect and include regional heads of state, Barrow said, though he declined to name which ones.</p>
<p>&#8220;With the statement from Jammeh (challenging the poll results) which shocked the world, he made a mistake, and they have to advise him,&#8221; Barrow told Reuters at a hotel in the capital Banjul.</p>
<p>Asked what he expected the delegation&#8217;s visit to accomplish, Barrow said he wanted to see an &#8220;expedited transitional period&#8221; that would lead to Jammeh handing over power.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are not talking about a military option. We want to safeguard our democracy and we want peace,&#8221; he said, but added that he was concerned for his own security.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have no official security. As president-elect, I should not be exposed in the way I am today,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Jammeh seized power in a coup in 1994 when he was an army lieutenant and has ruled ever since, wining four elections that were criticised by rights monitors and surviving several coup attempts. International human rights groups accuse him of widespread violations and repression.</p>
<p>He declared Gambia an Islamic Republic last year.</p>
<p>A statement from the opposition coalition read to reporters in Barrow&#8217;s presence on Monday called for Jammeh to step down immediately.</p>
<p>Before his surprise change of mind, he had pledged to hand over power to Barrow in January following the transitional period dictated by Gambian law.</p>
<p>However, Gambia has no sitting Supreme Court. In order to hear Jammeh&#8217;s complaint, legal experts believe at least four judges must be hired.</p>
<p>&#8220;We do not recognise that the outgoing president has the constitutional authority in the last days of his presidency, to appoint any Supreme Court judges in the Gambia for the purpose of receiving his petition,&#8221; opposition figure Mai Fatty said.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Liberia's Johnson Sirleaf to lead mediation mission to Gambia

<p>Gambia&#8217;s President Yahya Jammeh will challenge the results of a Dec. 1 election at the Supreme Court, the ruling party said, raising the prospect that a shock opposition victory that was poised to end 22 years of autocratic rule will be overturned.</p>
<p>Celebrations erupted across the tiny West African nation last week when Jammeh unexpectedly conceded defeat after the elections commission announced the victory of opposition candidate Adama Barrow.</p>
<p>However, in a dramatic about-face that drew international condemnation, the mercurial former coup leader on Friday decried &#8220;serious and unacceptable abnormalities&#8221; and called for fresh polls.</p>
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<p>In a statement broadcast on state television late on Saturday, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) said it was preparing a petition &#8220;against the flawed decision of the Independent Elections Commission&#8221;.</p>
<p>The deadline for submitting a challenge to the court is Tuesday.</p>
<p>There is no sitting Supreme Court in Gambia, though there is currently a chief justice, who is Nigerian. In order to hear Jammeh&#8217;s complaint, legal experts believe at least four other judges must be hired.</p>
<p>Rights groups say Jammeh exerts strong influence over the court.</p>
<p>Three chief justices served between 2013 and 2015. The first, a Nigerian, was fired five weeks after his appointment then arrested and jailed. His Ghanaian successor lasted six months before his dismissal.</p>
<p>Ali Nawaz Chowhan from Pakistan served for three months before abruptly leaving Gambia after acquitting the former navy chief in a treason case. He later told a Pakistani newspaper that he left because the decision displeased the government.</p>
<p>The last two Gambian judges left the court a year and a half ago.</p>
<p>&#8220;Either you do what Jammeh wants you to, or you lose your job or even go to jail,&#8221; said Bubacarr Drammeh, a former state prosecutor who fled into exile in the United States earlier this year.</p>
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<p>&#8220;NOTHING MORE THAN A COUP D&#8217;ETAT&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;The election results were correct, nothing will change that,&#8221; elections commission head Alieu Momarr Njai told Reuters on Sunday. &#8220;If it goes to court, we can prove every vote cast. The results are there for everyone to see.&#8221;</p>
<p>Barrow, who has pledged to serve as a transitional leader and step down after three years, said on Saturday that Jammeh had no constitutional authority to reject the poll results.</p>
<p>The residence in the capital Banjul where Barrow was staying on Sunday was surrounded by around 30 unarmed supporters who said they were providing security after the police and military declined to protect him.</p>
<p>Banjul was calm though armed soldiers were visible in the streets and manning checkpoints on some roads in the city.</p>
<p>The head of the Gambian army pledged allegiance to Barrow last week, however a regional diplomatic source who said he had spoken to the president-elect told Reuters he did not feel safe.</p>
<p>&#8220;He asks that the international community ensure his security because he feels threatened,&#8221; said the source, who asked not to be named.</p>
<p>Barrow declined to speak to Reuters on Sunday, but Omar Jallow, head of the People&#8217;s Progressive Party which backed Barrow in the election, said Jammeh&#8217;s actions were &#8220;nothing more than a coup d&#8217;etat.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;We will not accept anything less than Adama Barrow being sworn in &#8230; We will not take this lying down,&#8221; Jallow said.</p>
<p>Jammeh has long had a troubled relationship with the international community due to accusations of human rights violations including the repression of political opposition and threats of violence and death against homosexuals.</p>
<p>His U-turn on Friday drew condemnation from the United Nations, African Union, European Union and the United States.</p>
<p>&#8220;The will of the Gambian people, freely expressed in exercise of their franchise, must be respected by all without precondition,&#8221; said Liberia&#8217;s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who currently chairs the West African regional bloc ECOWAS.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Gambia's President Jammeh to challenge election loss

<p>Seconds after the chairman of Gambia&#8217;s electoral commission read out the poll results that ended President Yahya Jammeh&#8217;s 22-year rule to reporters, a policeman left the building, cheering and clapping his hands in the air.</p>
<p>This celebration of victory in last week&#8217;s election for Adama Barrow, a property developer with no previous political experience, drew a rebuke from a fellow officer who reminded the policeman he was in uniform.</p>
<p>&#8220;Adama Barrow is my new uniform,&#8221; he retorted.</p>
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<p>The apparently minor incident pointed to shifting allegiances within the security forces that left Jammeh with little choice but to step aside.</p>
<p>Later that day, the leader who once said he could rule the tiny West African country for &#8220;a billion years&#8221; and who had crushed numerous coup attempts, stunned viewers by calling Barrow to concede defeat on state TV. </p>
<p>The decision by the quirky but widely feared Jammeh to accept defeat in the Dec. 1 election has been hailed as a victory for democracy on a continent where veteran rulers have clung to power by methods ranging from legal shenanigans and simple cheating to brute force.</p>
<p>But it was the security forces who made clear to Jammeh that he would have to hand power next month to Barrow, a former security guard in a north London discount store.</p>
<p>According to political and security sources, the morning after voting &#8211; but before the Independent Electoral Commission announced the results &#8211; the heads of the army, police and National Intelligence Agency met Jammeh at his office.</p>
<p>&#8220;He was advised by them that he should be ready to officially concede defeat,&#8221; said Alhagie Darboe, spokesman for the leading party in Barrow&#8217;s coalition, citing one of Jammeh&#8217;s ministers.</p>
<p>Jammeh appeared ready to take their advice. &#8220;After the meeting, he told his ministers: &#8216;You will be jobless in January&#8217;,&#8221; a security source told Reuters.</p>
<p>An aide then informed the electoral commission that he would accept his loss. &#8220;Even before the (results) announcement he wanted to concede defeat,&#8221; commission chairman Alieu Momar Njai told Reuters.</p>
<p>So, wearing white robes and looking almost cheerful, Jammeh took to television to announce his retirement from politics. &#8220;I will be a farmer,&#8221; he said, his long official title &#8211; H.E. Sheikh Prof. Dr. Alh. Yahya AJJ Jammeh Babili Mansa &#8211; stretching across the width of the screen.</p>
<p>Analysts had weighed the risk that he would instead dig in and order his troops to crush dissent, as they did at a student protest in 2000. Some opposition members had hired bodyguards and spent election night in safehouses awaiting the results.</p>
<p>Jammeh, who along with many of his closest allies in the army is from the Jola ethnic minority, had previously vowed to crush opposition among the larger Madinka group.</p>
<p>But in the end, the security forces acted to prevent the kind of post-election bloodshed that hit Burundi in 2015-16.</p>
<p>Army head General Ousman Badjie declined to comment on the meeting, but he told Reuters: &#8220;I am just here to keep the country safe and stable. I am here for the Gambian people, I am not a politician.&#8221;</p>
<p>Badjie has pledged allegiance to Barrow, the president-elect&#8217;s spokeswoman said. [nL5N1E244C]</p>
<p> </p>
<p>&#8220;NOT THE BAD GUYS&#8221;</p>
<p>Gambians &#8211; who have lived for so many years in a virtual police state and never known a peaceful transfer of power since independence from Britain in 1965 &#8211; exploded with joy and celebrated the election result for days.</p>
<p>Wearing yellow &#8220;Fear No More&#8221; T-shirts, they cheered and banged drums atop vans in the capital Banjul, delighting many European tourists there for winter sun.</p>
<p>Officers joined them or honked at revellers following the elections when Gambians had cast ballots by dropping marbles into coloured drums representing each of the candidates. Results from polling stations next to barracks, where many soldiers had voted in uniform, showed a Barrow victory.</p>
<p>Diplomats say they would have looked to neighbour Senegal, which entirely surrounds the riverside nation and shares linguistic and ethnic ties, to intervene had violence broken out &#8211; as it did in 1981 during a coup.</p>
<p>Analysts say that the repression of Jammeh&#8217;s political opponents had backfired, helping a medley of opposition parties to rally behind a single leader for the first time, with Barrow eking out a victory by fewer than 20,000 votes.</p>
<p>Some prisoners, however, were freed from the Mile 2 prison near Banjul in a surprise gesture last year, including many former top military brass accused of treason.</p>
<p>&#8220;The soldiers are not the bad guys. They have been made bad by his orders,&#8221; said Jaina Ba Jetta, whose father was jailed for years in Mile 2 for &#8220;security reasons&#8221; and now lives in exile.</p>
<p>&#8220;There is constant fear, no security of tenure and everyone in the army is fed up,&#8221; said Francis Mendy from the Gambia office of West African peacebuilding body WANEP.</p>
<p>Even had they wanted to, it would have been hard for officers to seize power themselves on Dec. 1 because of a deliberate &#8220;divide and rule&#8221; strategy with armouries broken up into small depots, he added.</p>
<p>Officials from Barrow&#8217;s coalition say that modernising Gambia&#8217;s bloated army, whose checkpoints are dotted across the capital, will be among the priorities.</p>
<p>&#8220;The military needs to become a highly trained force that shows loyalty to the people and the constitution,&#8221; said Mai Ahmad Fatty, the head of Barrow&#8217;s transition team.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


How Gambia's top brass turned on long-ruling Jammeh

<p>Gambia&#8217;s defeated President Yahya Jammeh remains in the country and will hand over power to president-elect Adama Barrow in January following a transition period, the communications minister said on Sunday.</p>
<p>Jammeh, who has ruled the West African nation for 22 years, has not been seen in public since he shocked observers by accepting his surprise loss in a Dec. 1 election on Friday, leading to rumours he had fled Gambia.</p>
<p>His defeat was met with wild celebrations this weekend but his absence prompted speculation that a man who scrapped constitutional limits on the length of his rule and has a firm grip on the military, might not keep his word.</p>
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<p>&#8220;We are working on the transition now. They (Barrow&#8217;s coalition) will come and we will show them the ropes,&#8221; Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said in an interview.</p>
<p>&#8220;It will be the latter part of January,&#8221; Bojang said of the hand-over.</p>
<p>The outgoing president is currently in his residency at State House and will meet Barrow next week, he added. Gambian law calls for a 60-day transition period.</p>
<p>In a sign of growing confidence in the new political era, people tore down giant billboards wishing Jammeh &#8220;Happy 51st Birthday Mr. President&#8221; that had lined streets in Banjul.</p>
<p>Jammeh&#8217;s birthday was in May.</p>
<p>&#8220;I came here to witness this,&#8221; said Gibril Jaw, a tourist guide, standing in front of the torn posters. &#8220;Now there will be no more stress, no more scares, no more problems.&#8221;</p>
<p>The former British colony attracts thousands of British tourists to its beaches every year. But it has become increasingly estranged from the West in recent years amid tensions over allegations that Jammeh&#8217;s security forces have imprisoned and tortured opponents.</p>
<p>It withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2013 and in October Bojang announced the withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, calling it the &#8220;International Caucasian Court&#8221;.</p>
<p>But Barrow&#8217;s election has raised hopes of reforms, including the release of dozens of political prisoners, and closer relations with the West.</p>
<p>A Commonwealth spokesman said representatives from Barrow&#8217;s team had spoken with them and had &#8220;warm and friendly&#8221; discussions.</p>
<p>&#8220;Like every close knit family, our Commonwealth doors remain open and we look forward to continuing the conversation,&#8221; he said.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


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Yahya Jammeh

Private sector key to economic growth – Gambia Chamber of Commerce

Returning migrants to The Gambia: the political, social and economic costs

Why elections matter for democracy in Africa. The cases of Kenya and Rwanda

How West Africa built the muscle to rout dictators and keep the peace

How West Africa built the muscle to rout dictators

Gambia's top court adjourns Jammeh's poll challenge

Gambia minister defects amid political impasse

Gambia electoral commissioner flees country

Gambian security agents close radio stations amid post-election crisis

ECOWAS to uphold Gambian vote despite Jammeh's resistance

Under no circumstances can Gambia's Jammeh continue to be president – UN envoy

U.S. labels Gambia crisis "very dangerous"

Liberia's Johnson Sirleaf to lead mediation mission to Gambia

Gambia's President Jammeh to challenge election loss

How Gambia's top brass turned on long-ruling Jammeh

Gambia's Jammeh to hand over power by end January

News Tips

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