Gambia President Yahya Jammeh said on Friday he rejected the result of last week’s election, which he lost to opposition leader Adama Barrow, and called for a new ballot.
The announcement on state television cast doubt on the future of the West African country, after an unexpected result that ended 22 years of Jammeh’s rule and was seen as a moment of democratic hope.
“After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election. I regret the serious and unacceptable anomalies that apparently occurred during the election process,” Jammeh said.
“I recommend new transparent elections that will be officiated by an independent and fearful electoral commission of Allah,” he said.
Jammeh’s announcement is a serious and unexpected challenge to the incoming Barrow administration, which was already grappling with how to take over and deal with an army that has been loyal to the president for two decades.
“We are looking at what to do, but as far as we are concerned, people have already voted,” Mai Ahmad Fatty, head of President-elect Barrow’s transition team, told Reuters. “We will maintain peace and stability and we will not allow anyone to provoke us to violence,” he added.
Official election results released by the electoral commission give Barrow, a real estate entrepreneur who worked as a security guard for retailer Argos in London, with 45.5 percent of the vote, compared with 36.7 percent for Jammeh .
Barrow must take office in January, after a period of transition.
