Jammeh must go

Following Yahya Jammeh´s tragic volte-face, who has now changed his views on last week´s presidential elections and declared he will not accept the results, the UN Security Council met today to discuss the explosive situation The Gambia is now confronted with. The meeting was called at the request of Senegal, a country that surrounds The Gambia and has a very similar ethnic mix.

The Council has decided that Jammeh has no other option but to acknowledge the legitimacy of the election and move aside, for the winner to be sworn in with no undue delay.

This is not going to be easy to implement. Jammeh does not seem prepared to be reasonable. He is afraid of retribution and legal accusations, if he moves out of the State House.

In the circumstances, he should be offered political asylum elsewhere outside The Gambia. That should be the line of negotiations. It would facilitate the transition to democracy.

Where could he find asylum? That´s for the leaders of the region to decide and negotiate with the receiving state and Jammeh. But there are some countries that could be approached. For instance, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. 

The importance of the Electoral Commissions

Still on Gambia´s presidential elections, I owe a word of great recognition to the chairman of country´s Independent Electoral Commission, Mr. Alieu Momar Njie. I have seen many elections from a very close range. And I know that the chairmanship of the electoral commissions makes the difference. Just before the declaration of the results, Njie was for a while under very serious stress and hard pressure. But he demonstrated to be a strong and honest chairman. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, in similar situations. Therefore, it is tremendously important to mention his example.  

Democracy in action: The Gambia

I spent about five years in The Gambia, from 1989 to 1994. I had an excellent relationship with the national authorities in Banjul and also with a good number of traditional leaders, in many rural areas. The country was moving up, mainly because of tourism and trade with neighbouring Senegal and other countries in the vicinity. The young people had a good knowledge of English in addition to the national and regional languages.

I left the country one month before the military takeover. The coup came as a surprise. The national army was small and very young. It had been in contact with the Nigerian military during their joint UN peacekeeping assignments in Liberia. And they got some bad ideas.

The leader of the coup, Yahya Jammeh, became Head of State. With the passing of the years, he changed into the category of crazy dictator, like some we have seen in Africa and other parts of the world. His views turned into bizarre beliefs and his actions into violent oppression.

But in the soul of many Gambians, there had been planted a seed of freedom and democracy. And they also had the example of Senegal, next door, a twin nation and a much bigger brother. Senegal might have known many difficulties during the last twenty-five years or so, but the people kept a fighting spirit. The Gambians too.

And now they have voted Yahya Jammeh out of the presidency. They have opened a new phase in their future. There is hope again, after more than two decades of despair. I see this as an example that must be talked about.

As we should also talk about Jammeh, who understood the sense of the vote and has accepted his defeat. That´s remarkable for a man that was convinced he was in power for life.

Life is indeed full of surprises. In the case of The Gambia, this has been a magnificent one.