West African leaders meeting at a Franco-African summit in the Malian
capital Bamako on Saturday set Jan. 19 as a deadline to solve the
Gambian political crisis, Radio France Internationale quoted Togolese
President Faure Gnassingbe as saying.
January 19 is the date
when president-elect Adama Barrow has vowed to take power, despite
outgoing President Yahya Jammeh not accepting his defeat in the December
1 election.
Barrow attended the summit bringing together French
President Francois Hollande and more than 30 African leaders, while
Jammeh was absent.
“The choice of Gambian voters in favour of Adama Barrow must be respected,” Hollande said.
Barrow
arrived in Bamako with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who had met
both him and Jammeh in the Gambian capital Banjul on Friday.
A
statement from Barrow’s office said Jammeh’s meeting with Buhari and
other mediators from the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) was “unproductive.”
Barrow’s spokesman Halifa Sallah said ECOWAS would nevertheless continue its mediation efforts.
Gambia
has been in a political deadlock since Barrow, a real estate mogul who
was little known before he announced his candidacy, defeated Jammeh in
the election.
Jammeh, who has ruled the small West African nation
for 22 years with an iron fist, has filed a petition to challenge the
election result at the Supreme Court.
The talks with ECOWAS came
several hours after Gambia’s ruling party filed a motion with the
Supreme Court to prevent Barrow from being sworn into office on January
19.
The African Union said Friday said it will cease to recognize Jammeh as president after that date.
ECOWAS
earlier pledged to send troops to ensure a peaceful transition of power
in Gambia if Jammeh persists in his refusal to step down.
Source: PM News
