UN insists Jammeh must go

The UN’s West Africa envoy says Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh must step down when his mandate ends in January to enable opposition leader Adama Barrow to take office after his election win. Speaking to AFP in Dakar, Senegal, Mohamed Ibn Chambas said that as Jammeh’s five-year mandate ended on January 19, he had a constitutional […]

The UN’s West Africa envoy says Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh must step down when his mandate ends in January to enable opposition leader Adama Barrow to take office after his election win.
Speaking to AFP in Dakar, Senegal, Mohamed Ibn Chambas said that as Jammeh’s five-year mandate ended on January 19, he had a constitutional right to remain in office until then.
“Between now and January 19th it is Mr Jammeh that is the constitutionally elected president,” he said. “By January 19th he should be ready to hand over power.”
On Monday Barrow had called for the president to step down “now” as his coalition became increasingly annoyed by Jammeh’s refusal to admit defeat in the December 1 election and his party’s legal challenge against the result.
His spokesman earlier told AFP that the ongoing police occupation of The Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) – the object of the APRC’s legal complaint – was an “unacceptable act”.