Banjul, Dec 6, (dpa/GNA) – Incumbent Adama Barrow won a second term as Gambian president in landmark elections, the electoral commission announced on Sunday evening, a result his rival Ousainou Darboe’s party said it would contest.
Barrow received 53 per cent of votes against Darboe’s 27 per cent, the electoral commission said.
According to final results, 457,519 votes went to Barrow of the National People’s Party (NNP), with Darboe of the United Democratic Party (UDP) coming in second place with 238,253.
Earlier Sunday, Darboe had rejected provisional results indicating that Barrow had won.
Flanked by independent candidate Essa Mbye Faal and leader of the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), Mama Kandeh, Darboe read a joint statement on Sunday rejecting the electoral commission’s results announcement, and urged Gambians to remain calm while investigations continue.
UDP supporters claim that the election was rigged in favour of Barrow, although they did not immediately provide any evidence for the accusation.
Gambians went to the polls on Saturday in the West African country’s first elections, without ousted former head of state Yahya Jammeh on the ballot.
Barrow said after the vote that while he was expecting a “landslide triumph” he was willing to “accept the results.”
The opposition have the right to petition the results before the Supreme Court within 10 days. There are fears that the objections could result in violence.
All parties had promised to bring change to the country, which suffered under Jammeh’s dictatorial rule.
Last week Barrow was handed a report by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC,) which calls for the prosecution of those responsible for the atrocities perpetrated during that time.
However, the NPP entered a partnership with Jammeh’s former party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction, which had not been well received.
Many believe that the alliance could jeopardize the implementation of TRRC recommendations.
The Gambia has never undergone a peaceful transition of power since independence from Britain in 1965.
GNA