UN Security Council Warns Jammeh

The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned the outgoing Gambian President for rejecting the official election results proclaimed by the Independent Electoral Commission. The Council warned Yahya Jammeh, urging him to out a peaceful and orderly transition process.

In a press statement issued on Saturday, the 15-member Council called on outgoing Gambian leader “to respect the choice of the sovereign people of Gambia, as he did on 2 December, and to transfer, without condition and undue delay, power to the President-elect, Mr. Adama Barrow.”

The Council also urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint, refrain from violence and remain calm, and requested that the security of President-elect Barrow and that of all Gambians be fully ensured.

The Security Council members called on the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWAS) and international partners, especially the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to preserve stability in Africa’s smallest country on mainland. They should also work towards the installation of a democratically elected government in the Gambia.

While commending Gambians for conducting peaceful and transparent elections on 1 December, the UN body urged the outgoing President Jammeh to respect the ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, notably the rejection of unconstitutional changes of government, and recalled the relevant provisions of Article 23 (4) of the African Union (AU) Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.

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