(JollofNews) – The United States has condemned a statement from Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh rejecting the result of a Dec. 1 election that spelled the end of his 22-year rule.
Mr Jammeh, 51, who has ruled the Gambia since July 1994, lost the election to Adama Barrow of the opposition coalition.
Mr Jammeh had initially conceded defeat and praised the country’s electoral system as “the most transparent election in the whole world,” adding that he would not contest the result.
Final results by the electoral commission said Mr Barrow secured 227, 708 votes representing 43 per cent of the general votes while Mr Jammeh secured 208, 487 votes representing 40 per cent of the votes.
In a statement issued immediately after Jammeh’s infamous remarks on GRTS, deputy spokesman at the U.S. Department of State, Mark Toner said: “This action is a reprehensible and unacceptable breach of faith with the people of The Gambia and an egregious attempt to undermine a credible election process and remain in power illegitimately.”
The Gambia is headed by President Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1994 and has made headlines for eccentric proclamations, including a claim to have invented a cure for HIV/AIDS.
The former military man, who once told a reporter he could lead The Gambia for “a billion years,” is expected to hand over power to president-elect Adama Barrow in January.
