Opposition Gambian presidential candidate Adama Barrow hailed a “new Gambia” on Friday after he pulled off a stunning election victory, putting an end to the 22-year rule of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
Jammeh — who has been frequently accused over the years of suppressing his opponents — conceded defeat on TV, accepting that Gambians had “decided that I should take the backseat.”
Official results earlier showed Barrow, a businessman and political unknown until six months ago, comfortably winning Thursday’s poll with 45.54 percent, capping a remarkable rise to prominence.
Photo: AFP
Jammeh took 212,099 votes (36.66 percent) and third party candidate Mama Kandeh 102,969 votes (17.8 percent), the Independent Electoral Commission said.
Gambians took to the streets to celebrate the biggest upset in the west African nation since Jammeh seized power in a 1994 coup.
In Westfield, a district near the capital, teenagers piled on top of cars, taking selfies and strumming guitars, while others waved flags colored the gray of the opposition coalition.
In his first comments afterward, Barrow acknowledged the nation’s huge shift.
“It’s time for work. It’s a new Gambia,” he said.
Barrow was chosen as the opposition flag bearer by a group of political parties who joined forces for the first time and won unprecedented popular support.
Speaking to the public on Gambian TV, Jammeh congratulated Barrow for his “clear victory,” adding: “I wish him all the best and I wish all Gambians the best.”
Jammeh — who once said he would govern for a billion years if God willed it — was attempting to win a fifth term, but said the result was a decision from the divine that he would respect.
“I will never cheat or dispute the election because this is the most transparent, rig-proof elections in the whole world,” he added, referring to the Gambia’s unique system of voting with marbles dropped into colored drums.
Jammeh has 60 days to leave office, according to the Gambian constitution.
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