Democratic Republic Of Congo
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday made a phone call to Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow, to congratulate him on his electoral victory, a move that is expected to put more pressure on Yayha Jammeh to release power.
In a readout of the phone call issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban said that the UN welcomed and fully supported the decision of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on 17 December to support the safety of the president-elect.
Ban Ki-moon, with #Gambia representative to
— UN Political Affairs (UN_DPA) December 22, 2016UN
, reiterates commitment to peaceful transfer of power in the country. https://t.co/eEQLX9aKG9 pic.twitter.com/OKgmOKRSIk
The ECOWAS leaders recently met in Abuja Nigeria, where they asked Yayha Jammeh to acknowledge his defeat. The chairperson of the regional bloc, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said that ECOWAS is considering measures against Gambia’s outgoing Jammeh, to step down before his term ends on January 19.
Jammeh has however maintained his hard stance that he wont step down and condemned efforts by the west African leaders to remove him from office. He has lodged an appeal to Gambia’s Constitutional Court to challenge the results of the December 1st polls.
At the same time Jammeh ordered the reopening of the Electoral Commission offices on Thursday, which had been closed since December 13 for security reasons, according to his government.
The reopening is expected to allow the Constitutional Court to pursue the process, which will examine Jammeh’s appeal on January 10.
01:21
Pope Leo XIV warns world leaders against indifference to global hunger
Go to video
UN warns: Global CO2 levels hit record high, fueling extreme weather
01:02
UN to slash global peacekeeping force, amid US funding cuts
01:14
Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of preparing to wage war against it
00:40
Khaled el-Enany and Firmin Matoko compete for UNESCO's top role
Go to video
U.N. food agency to suspend food aid for 750,000 people in Somalia