Gambia re-elects President Adama Barrow

Over eight hundred-thousand Gambians on Saturday morning were standing in queue to cast their first vote after the ousting of the former president Yahya Jammeh who ruled the country with “iron fist.”

As the electorate cast their votes, they return home peacefully and either turn on the radio and TV to follow the election process.

The counting of the votes was witness by polling staff, party agent, domestic and international observers, the counting was done on the spot.

The voting officially closed at 5pm in the afternoon in polling stations. the country has 1,554 Polling Stations in 53 constituencies.

The country of 2.5 million people has 962,157 Registered voters that were expected. but 859,567 which is only 89 percent of the 962,157 registered voters.

The close of the voting followed a counting-on-the spot and later the declaration of the final results by the Chairman of Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Alieu Momar Njie at the IEC Headquarters.

The incumbent president Adama Barrow received 457,519 votes.

United Democratic Party, ANM Ousainou Darboe has 238,253 votes.

Mamma Kandeh of Gambia Moral Congress got 105,902 votes.

HalifaAbaabacarr Sallah of People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism polled 32, 435 votes.

Essa Mbaye Faal, independent candidate has 17,206 votes.

Abdoulie Ebrima Jammeh of National Unity Party has 8,252 votes.

Adama Barrow has 53.2 percent of the votes cast in the election.

Results rejected

Three opposition candidates, Ousainou Darboe of UDP, Mama Kandeh of GDC and Essa Mbye Faay, independent jointly rejected the election result before the declaration of the final results yesterday.

Reading the statement the joint statement Darboe said they are concerned that there has been an inordinate delay in the announcement of the results.

However, the announcement of the results took place around midnight on Sunday and the delay of the announcement led to rumors about the election.

Darboe said that their agents and representatives at the polling stations and IEC Headquarters raised issues that prompted them to refused to endorse the results.

Some called the election as a test for stability in the country’s democratic transition.

The election was the first presidential elections after the fall of former dictator Yahya Jammeh in 2016.

The Monitor

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