(CNN) He has ruled Gambia with an iron grip for the past 22 years, but President Yahya Jammeh has suffered a shock election defeat and will concede power to his opponent Adama Barrow, the country’s electoral commission told CNN.
Joseph Colley, director of communications for the commission, said: “The President will make a television statement conceding the election within the next three hours.”
“Our commissioner was called and informed and we are confident the president will concede,” he added.
Earlier, the head of the commission Alieu Momar Njie, told reporters in Gambia, “It’s really unique that someone who has been ruling this country for so long has accepted defeat.”
Barrow, a property developer, won more than 45% of the vote with 263,515 ballots cast for him.
He reportedly previously worked as a security guard at the Argos retail store in London where he once tackled a shoplifter, according to reports in UK newspapers.
Speaking to CNN by phone from the Gambian capital Banjul, Barrow said: “We are very, very, very happy. The people have been very patient.”
Asked what he planned to do with the incumbent president’s human rights violations, he said: “We will follow the rule of law…he has led a good campaign and conceded. But everything will be done according to the law.”
President Jammeh seized power in 1994 in a military coup and has been in power ever since. Human rights groups have described his regime as abusive, with hundreds of political prisoners languishing in jail.
On the eve of the election, websites and phone lines were blocked and remained so as polls opened on Thursday.
Throughout election day, heavy paramilitary presence was reported at poll stations as Gambians cast their votes using the country’s unique marbles and drums system.
Gambia’s marble voting system
The unique voting system was introduced in the early 1960’s to address the high level of illiteracy in the country.
Each party competing in the election has a drum painted with its own identifying colors and their party symbol.
Voters are issued a marble each, then proceed to the polling booth to vote.
This system of voting was introduced to assure transparency.
When a marble is dropped into the drum, it hits a bell which indicates a vote has just been cast. To prevent other sounds the drum has saw dust or sand inside.
The system allows counting officials quickly ascertain the number of votes cast in each drum.
More than 880,000 voters are expected to cast their ballots when this tiny west African nation goes to the polls.
Counting is snappy as the marbles are poured from the ballot drum into a wooden tray with 200 or 500 holes.
In April, the UDP’s national organizing secretary was beaten to death while in custody of security services, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
Today at least 43 people remain in custody, according to the media monitoring organization Article 19.
Sabrina Mahtani of Amnesty International said in response to news that Jammeh had conceded defeat: “For many years, the people of Gambia have suffered numerous abuses, including horrific human rights violations and oppression.”
“The last two weeks have shown how much Gambians of all parties value free speech,” she said. “There is a huge obligation now for the future administration to transform the human rights situation in Gambia, freeing political prisoners, removing repressive laws and entrenching newly found freedoms.”
Jammeh also attracted heavy criticism for claiming that he had created a herbal remedy for AIDS. He also once threatened to behead gay people.
The small West African nation is the fourth largest source of migrants arriving in Italy, despite having a population of less than two million people.
Brent Swails and Briana Duggan contributed to this report
Source link : https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2016/12/02/africa/gambia-yahya-jammeh-defeat
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Publish date : 2016-12-02 08:00:00
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