Gambians Vote in 1st Post-Jammeh Presidential Election | World News

By ABDOULIE JOHN and CARLEY PETESCH, Associated Press

BANJUL, Gambia (AP) – Gambians voted in large numbers on Saturday for the first presidential election in decades to fail former dictator Yahya Jammeh, a milestone seen as a test of democracy in the West African country.

All day long, voters meandered in front of the doors and around the corners, showing up at the polling stations before sunrise and pouring in steady streams into the bright afternoon.

Nearly 1 million voters were expected to throw marbles into one of six ballot boxes, each adorned with a candidate’s face and name.

Candidates include incumbent President Adama Barrow, who defeated Jammeh in 2016 while running as a candidate for an opposition coalition.

Political cartoons about world leaders

Political cartoons

Barrow’s challengers are former United Democratic Party mentor and opposition leader Ousainou Darboe; Mama Kandeh from the Democratic Congress of Gambia; Halifa Sallah of the People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism; Abdoulie Ebrima Jammeh of the National Unity Party; and Essa Mbye Faal, former chief attorney for the Gambia Truth Commission, which runs under an independent ticket.

“We will never lose this election,” said Barrow after the Banjul vote. “I am a development focused leader and that development will continue in this country. I know my people will be partying on the streets for the next 24 hours. “

Barrow stressed that the Independent Electoral Commission must remain impartial in its oversight of the elections.

“When they’re neutral it’s very easy for all of us, the players, and when they’re neutral it’s easy for people to accept the end results,” he said.

Darboe, the United Democratic Party candidate, voted in Fajara, a neighborhood in Bakau near the capital, and used a walker to vote because of health problems.

“We hope that a lot of people will come and cast their votes because we believe that the United Democratic Party will have its chance of victory if the majority of the people cast their votes.” Kemo Bojang, National Secretary General of the UDP Youth Wing said .

Independent Electoral Commission Chairman Alieu Mommar Njie toured polling stations in the Serrekunda area and said he was satisfied with the voting process. He said the election results would be announced by Monday.

“There is no better system in the world than us,” Mommar told reporters.

All presidential candidates have vowed to bolster the country’s tourism-dependent economy after the coronavirus pandemic so that fewer Gambians are forced to travel the dangerous migration route to Europe.

While the 2016 elections that cut Jammeh from power after 22 years, moved Gambier from fear to joy, many are still not satisfied with the progress the nation has made.

“Since President Barrow came to power, food prices have continued to rise. The average Gambier lives in poverty, so we would like a candidate to be elected to address this issue, ”said Kebba Gaye, 23, in Wellingara City. “We young people want to choose a leader who respects and values ​​our voices. A leader who creates jobs for us (young people), builds road works as well as high quality hospitals across the country. “

In a nearby neighborhood, Marietou Bojang, 24, agreed to the need for change, saying people did not have enough to eat.

“I choose because I and other women suffer in silence. A bag of rice has gone up dramatically, “she told the Associated Press.

She also complained about corruption, saying that not enough had been done to address the problems in the government.

Many Gambians want assurance that the new leaders will lead the small West African nation of around 2.4 million people to peace and justice.

Despite Jammeh’s departure, the nation continues to suffer the consequences of his rule, including violations of rights and withdrawals from state treasuries.

“As a country, we cannot heal without justice,” Gambia Bar Association president Salieu Taal told The Associated Press.

Jammeh left The Gambia in 2017. His two-decade rule was marked by arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and executions exposed by dramatic testimony during year-long hearings by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission.

Last week the commission presented its 17-volume report to President Barrow, calling on him to live up to expectations and ensure that perpetrators of human rights abuses are prosecuted. Barrow said he would see that justice is done.

A re-election of Barrow is uncertain, however, as many Gambier feel betrayed after his National People’s Party reached an agreement with the top figures of the former ruling party, despite Jammeh’s split from that party.

An emblematic figure in the People’s Progressive Party, Omar Amadou Jallow threw his weight behind Barrow.

“Let’s vote and return home peacefully,” he told reporters on Saturday. “This choice will be transparent.”

Jallow said the party’s supporters shouldn’t fight each other and urged the Gambier to stay open.

“We are legally the same. This is democracy. We want peace in this country, ”he added.

Links to Jammeh aren’t just an issue for the incumbent president, however. Opposition candidate Kandeh has strong support from a breakaway political faction that Jammeh formed during his exile in Equatorial Guinea.

While Kandeh has remained silent about Jammeh’s possible return to Gambia, his allies make it clear that if they emerge victorious, Jammeh would return.

Jammeh, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1994, was voted out of office in 2016. After initially agreeing to resign, Jammeh resisted, and in a six-week crisis, neighboring West African countries prepared to send troops to stage a military intervention. Jammeh was forced into exile and fled to Equatorial Guinea.

Of the other candidates, Sallah and Darboe are established politicians, but they are challenged by newcomers like Faal and Ebrima Jammeh making waves in the cities.

Gambians, used to poll-related violence, worry about a possible confrontation between Barrow and Darboe supporters, as the two leaders have seen a huge gap between the two once-close leaders over the years.

Petesch reported from Dakar, Senegal. AP reporter Mustapha Jallow in Banjul contributed to this.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-12-04/gambians-vote-in-1st-post-jammeh-presidential-election