New Gambian president promises to hand over power peacefully at the end of his tenure

Monday, 23 January 2017

The Gambia's president, Adama Barrow, has promised that he will hand over peacefully to his successor when his tenure as president elapses.

While speaking to the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, on Sunday night, Barrow recognised the contribution of African and world leaders to ensure that Justice and the will of the people prevailed in Gambia.

Barrow, who had to leave his country for a while and was inaugurated as president in Senegal due to his predecessor's refusal to peacefully step down has promised that his successor will not experience the same thing he did. He also pledged to put laws in place to ensure the smooth transfer of power and also presidential term limits to prevent any one person from holding on to power indefinitely.

"This time the democratic principle will be reinstated. And we will improve on them. We will put in place laws that nobody will stay long. Laws like term limit.“ 

Every president will know that; ‘look I am president but at this time I will leave power.’ You will behave yourself and try to work for the country so that you will leave a good legacy,” Mr. Barrow said.

Barrow spoke on the Exile of Yahya Jammeh to Equatorial Guinea, revealing that Jammeh was allowed to leave so as to ensure his safety.

He said:

 “We don’t want him to stay in the Gambia, because we cannot guarantee his security. The security situation in the Gambia is fragile. It’s a very difficult situation. And if you allow a former President to stay in your country, you have to guarantee his security. 

"If you cannot guarantee his security, it will be impossible for us to keep him. That is why our stand is; let him leave to a foreign land. In the future he might come back if things settle down.”