‘Gambia’s President-elect Must Be Installed’

French President François Hollande said the Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow must be installed as soon as possible.” President Holland, whose country helped to flush out Cote d’Ivoire’s Laurent Gbagbo, wants outgoing President Yahya Jammeh to accept election defeat and hand over power.

After a meeting with visiting Senegalese President Macky Sall in Paris on Tuesday, President Hollande said the Gambia’s December 1st presidential election results “indisputable.”

Hollande said the installation of Mr. Barrow is “non-negotiable.”

French President’s comments followed Yahya Jammeh’s flip-flopping. He conceded defeat on December 2nd only to reverse his decision a week later, declaring the election results “null and void. Jammeh complained about irregularities and called for fresh elections to be held. National and international condemnation of the tyrant leader’s unacceptable behaviour. Regional heads of state conducted an session on the Gambia last week. They want to use everything including force to install Adama Barrow on January 19, 2017.

President Sall, whose country surrounded the Gambia by land, would not sit and watch Yahya Jammeh disrespect the will of the Gambian people. Sall’s government had earlier petitioned Jammeh to the United Nations Security Council. Like ECOWAS leaders, the UN and the African Union want Jammeh to step down and hand over power.

Sall is confident that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari of who is mediating the political crisis on behalf of ECOWAS will “make the Gambian president listen to sense and that the transition of power will take place peacefully on January 19.”

Sall said Jammeh’s refusal to listen will compel them to “enforce the sovereign decisions” taken by the 15-member ECOWAS leaders.

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