The
umbrella body of lawyers in The Gambia has condemned in “the strongest possible
terms” the 9th December statement of President Yahya Jammeh annulling results
of the presidential election held in The Gambia on 1 December this year.
The
Gambia Bar Association, in a press statement read out yesterday to the media by
its President, at the Coco Ocean and Spa Hotel in Kerr Serign, stated:
“We
reject the subsequent statement by the APRC that it intends to file an election
petition against the results published by the Independent Electoral
Commission.”
The
following statement read out by a senior member of the Bar association, Lawyer
Sheriff Tambedou, states:
“The
Gambia Bar Association condemns in the strongest possible terms the
announcement by President Yahya Jammeh made on Friday the 9th December 2016
wherein he declared the 1st December 2016 elections null and void.
“The
said statement of the outgoing President contravenes the provisions of Section
49 of the 1997 Constitution of The Republic of The Gambia and, in our
considered opinion, is an abrogation of the Constitution and an attempt to
subvert the legitimate decision of the people of The Gambia. Furthermore, this
action is tantamount to treason under the provisions of Section 6 (1) of the
Constitution.
“We
reject the subsequent statement by the APRC that it intends to file an election
petition against the results published by the Independent Electoral Commission.
The rhetoric of the APRC further compounds the illegitimate and destabilizing
actions of the outgoing President.
“While
under normal circumstances the right to petition against election results does
exist, the situation in The Gambia now is that there is no constituted panel of
the Supreme Court.
“The
GBA notes with concern that, since May 2015, there has not been a sitting
Supreme Court session due to the absence of a panel. This is despite several
reminders issued to the Chief Justice by members of the Bar.
“In
the circumstance, it would be against the principles of natural justice for the
outgoing President to appoint Supreme Court Judges to hear a Petition filed by
him or on his behalf.
“That
would be tantamount to one being a judge in his own case considering that the
outgoing President has already pre-empted the outcome of Court process by
declaring the election result as a nullity.
“It
is the position of the GBA that an outgoing President must not be appointing
judges who should have been appointed since 2015.
“In
the present circumstances, any Supreme Court empanelled by the outgoing
President Jammeh for the purposes of hearing his election petition would be
fundamentally tainted.
“The
Gambia Bar Association, therefore, states that there is no legitimate legal
mechanism available in The Gambia to hear and determine the election petition
filed by the outgoing President Jammeh or on his behalf.
“Under
the circumstances, we call on outgoing President Jammeh to respect the outcome
of the December 2016 elections and, immediately, hand over power peacefully to
President-elect Adama Barrow in line with the sovereign will of the people of
The Gambia.
“Any
other course of action will jeopardize the peace and stability of our country.
“We
also call on other professional bodies, unions, civil society organizations,
the civil and public service and the security forces to respect the will of the
people and pledge their allegiance to the President-elect.
“We
also call on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights headquartered
here in The Gambia, to strongly urge the outgoing President to respect the
outcome of the just-concluded Presidential elections, and to further respect
the relevant regional and international human instruments binding on The
Gambia.
“We
ask all members of the Bar Association and the staff of the Judiciary, in
particular, to boycott the courts in solidarity with the people until such time
as the Government of the outgoing President Jammeh accepts the result of the
election and hand over power to the President-elect.”
