A
leading member of the Coalition, Mai Ahmed Fatty, has said nothing would stop
the inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow on Thursday 19 January, except
God.
He
made this remark at a press conference held on Friday at the Kairaba Beach
Hotel.
Fatty
added that the outgoing president can pursue whatever remedies he wants to
pursue, but the inauguration of Adama Barrow would take place on 19 January.
“According
to Section 60 of the Constitution, President Yahya Jammeh will become a former
head of state on 19 January 2017.
“This
is in line with the wishes of The Gambian people; this is our position, and it
is also recognised by the International Community, ECOWAS, the AU and the UN,”
he added.
Mr
Fatty continued: “President Jammeh is the head of state for now, but his term
will come to an end on January 18, and people are saying that we are not doing
anything, but we are following the rules. We are grounded about the
Constitution, and will wait till on January 19 when we will act.”
A
lawyer by profession, Fatty said according to Section 125 of the Constitution,
Executive Power of the State is vested in the President until January 18,
after which he becomes a former president.
He
went on: “We heard that there is an injunction filed in the court which will
stop the inauguration of President Adama Barrow, but they can file a thousand
injunctions and these cannot stop President Barrow’s inauguration on January
19.
“We
are, therefore, calling on President Jammeh to respect the Constitution as the
Chief Executive of the State to enforce the laws of the country, but most
importantly we call upon him to uphold the Constitution of The Gambia and hand
over power.”
