BANJUL, Gambia (AP) — Gambia’s president of 22 years acknowledged his election defeat on state television Friday night, vowing to step down hours after news of the results prompted thousands to celebrate in the streets in an unprecedented display of disdain for his rule.
With cameras rolling, Yahya Jammeh called the winner, opposition coalition leader Adama Barrow, on a mobile phone to praise the election and vow not to contest the result.
“Allah is telling me my time is up and I hand over graciously with gratitude toward the Gambian people and gratitude toward you,” Jammeh said.
It was a stunning turn of events in a country where critics have long alleged votes are rigged. Just five years ago, Jammeh said he could stay in power for a billion years.
According to the electoral commission’s tally, Barrow received 45 percent of Thursday’s vote compared to Jammeh’s 36 percent.
Many Gambians stayed up all night Thursday listening to the radio and tallying results as they were read out constituency by constituency.
Once the results were announced on Friday, some tore down posters of Jammeh as the military stood by. Men in pickup trucks rode through the streets of Banjul screaming “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”
For the tens of thousands watching abroad from political exile, it was a day they thought might never come.
Speaking by phone from Washington, Gambian activist Pasamba Jow said the election was a “great victory” for the country and the entire African continent, though he anticipated a “difficult task of rebuilding our country and healing our nation.”
Nevertheless, Jammeh had projected confidence, saying his victory was all but assured by God and predicting “the biggest landslide in the history of the country” after he voted.
