Going by the recent position adopted by the African Union (AU), that it will no longer recognise Yahya Jammeh as President of The Gambia, the continental body would in principle turn to Adama Barrow as the country’s leader for official relations.
President Yahya Jammeh’s term in office as leader of the tiny West African country comes to an end next Thursday and AU has warned of “serious consequences” if Mr. Jammeh’s refusal to give up power causes a crisis.
Barrow, who won the December 2016 presidential election, said he believed he would be sworn in Thursday, even as the outgoing Gambian dictator, Jammeh, has closed the country’s border with Senegal.
According to Agency reports, the border closure followed reports of massive exodus of Gambians fleeing the country amid threats of external invasion from ECOWAS to flush out the despotic Jammeh regime.
Similarly, President-elect Barrow, who told the BBC in an interview that he is willing to have a face-to-face dialogue with Jammeh, was invited to take part in the ECOWAS meeting holding in Mali yesterday.
Barrow, the winner of the December presidential election, has also said there is no need for President Yahya Jammeh to seek asylum, expressing confidence that direct talks can solve the crisis.
While also expressing optimism that he would be sworn in on January 19, despite his rival’s refusal to give up power. The President-elect declared: “We want to keep Jammeh in The Gambia, I don’t think there is any need for him to go to another country.” Read more on this here.