As
the international community continues to pile pressure on outgoing Gambian
President Yahya Jammeh to hand over power to President-elect Adama Barrow, the
Gambian ambassador to the United States has become the latest high-ranking
member of the regime to renounce Jammeh’s decision to hang on to power.
In
a declaration issued Tuesday, Sheikh Omar Faye said he finds it morally
difficult to remain silent while Gambians are in fear and uncertainty.
“My
duty as a diplomat is to promote the interests of the Gambia and her people. I
have always pushed for the interest of our people and vehemently stayed on
course to help build a solid healthy bilateral relationship between The Gambia
and the United States,” he said.
Ambassador
Faye went on to call on President Jammeh to accept the will of the Gambian
people and hand over to President-elect Adama Barrow, as stipulated in the
country’s constitution.
“I
am supporting the people of The Gambia by recognizing Adama Barrow as the
President-elect of the Gambia out of my personal decision and desire to protect
the peace and social cohesion of our beloved country.
“I
am not by any means speaking out of personal interest, but extremely worried
about the peace and stability of The Gambia,” Faye said.
Faye
expressed the hope that his message will contribute towards the efforts for
peaceful resolution of the current situation.
It
would be recalled that after the announcement of the results of The Gambia’s
presidential elections, held on December 1, President Jammeh telephoned the
candidate of the opposition Coalition, Adama Barrow, to congratulate him on his
victory and promised that he was going to hand over to him in January.
However,
on December 9, Jammeh made an announcement on Gambia Television that he has
rejected the results, and that he was annulling the results and calling for
fresh elections.