At
the end of the summit in Abuja, Nigeria, the West African leaders have resolved
to take all necessary actions to enforce the result of Gambia’s 1st December
2016 elections.
“The
Authority [Ecowas heads of state] shall take all necessary actions to enforce
the results of 1st December 2016 election,” the leaders said in a communiqué
issued at the end of the 50th ordinary session of the heads of state of the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held on Saturday.
After
accepting the result as the will of the Gambian people and calling
president-elect to congratulate him, outgoing president Yahya Jammeh now
faulted the process, fairness and result of the election, which he initially
described “most transparent and rig-proof”.
Jammeh,
who is calling for a fresh election, has filed a petition at the Supreme Court
challenging the election result.
But
in the Ecowas communiqué, the West African leaders agreed to uphold the result
of election, and called on Jammeh to respect it as the will of the Gambian
people.
They
also urged him to refrain from any action likely to compromise the transition
and peaceful transfer of power to the president-elect.
The
leaders have also affirmed to guarantee the safety and protection of the president-elect
Barrow, and said he must be sworn in on 19 January 2017. The West African leaders are to attend the
inauguration on the 19th of January.
They
also called on the outgoing government and the Coalition parties to show
restraint in order to preserve national unity.
The
president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has been appointed to serve as the
mediator in The Gambia, and Ghana’s John Dramani Mahama, as the co-chair.
The
summit further requested the endorsement of the African Union and the United
Nations of all decisions taken on the matter of The Gambia.
The
leaders said the political situation in The Gambia is worrying due to outgoing
president Jammeh’s rejection of the result of the presidential election.
An
Ecowas delegation comprising President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and
chairperson of Ecowas, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, President Ernest
Koroma of Sierra Leone, and President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana was in
Banjul on 13 December 2016 to review the political situation with all
stakeholders.
