Africans League

Thousands of teachers and lawyers in English-speaking regions of Cameroon are on strike, because they think the government is trying to marginalise them by imposing the French language on their schools and courts. Areas controlled by Britain and France joined to form Cameroon after the colonial powers withdrew in the 1960s. As a result, the country now has 10 semi-autonomous administrative regions: eight are Francophone, while the North and Southwest regions are home to approximately five million English speakers. Anglophones in the country have long complained that they face discrimination. They often say that they are excluded from state jobs as a result of their limited French language skills. They also complain that official documents are often only published in French, even though English is also an official language. "There are two national school curriculums in English-speaking regions," said Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi, reporting from Bamenda. "But Frenc...

Yahya Jammeh, the longtime president of The Gambia, has conceded defeat to opposition leader Adama Barrow, accepting that the people have "decided that I should take the back seat". Jammeh, who came to power in 1994 as a 29-year-old army officer following a military coup, had won four previous polls. Speaking to the public on Gambian television late on Friday, Jammeh congratulated Barrow for his "clear victory", saying: "I wish him all the best and I wish all Gambians the best." He said: "If [Barrow] wants to work with us also, I have no problem with that. I will help him work towards the transition," he said, confirming that he would not contest the result." Barrow's victory in Thursday's presidential election brings to an end Jammeh's 22-year rule. Gambians voted by placing marbles into drums marked for each candidate. Barrow received 263,515 votes while Jammeh won 212,099, Alieu Momarr Njai, the electoral commission head,...

The ECOWAS Commission, the African Union and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) have congratulated the President-elect of The Gambia, Mr. Adama Barrow on his stunning victory in the December 1 presidential election. The three bodies, in a joint statement issued on Saturday, also hailed the incumbent Yahya Jammeh for gracefully conceding defeat. Jammeh, who has ruled the tiny West African nation for 22 years, lost the Thursday's election to a property developer, Barrow, who won more than 45% of the vote. The President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Chairperson of the AU Commission and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General to West Africa and Sahel commended "the people of The Gambia for peaceful, free, fair and transparent presidential election, which was in line with the provisions of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and the AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance." Th...

Six months ago Adama Barrow was unknown in the political field, but he has just been elected president of The Gambia: His victory brings to an end more than two decades of Yahya Jammeh's rule. 263,515 marbles spoke in favour of for him: Adama Barrow, the opposition leader, will be the next president of The Gambia. Barrow was declared winner with 45 percent. He stunningly d Even though his victory came as a surprise, Barrow himself seemed to see into the future when he told DW before the election that Gambia needed a change. "The infrastructure in 1975 is better than now. Road network in the capital is very bad," Barrow said. Six months ago, hardly anyone would have recognized Barrow on the streets. Now his portrait is plastered on car windows, campaign posters and even t-shirts. Barrow entered into politics after top officials from the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) were jailed in July. Under his flag, seven opposition parties and one independent candidate joi...

Yundum, Gambia - The Gambian opposition leader, Adama Barrow, has won the presidential election, ending the 22-year rule of President Yahya Jammeh in the West African country. News of Barrow's victory prompted thousands to take to the streets of the capital Banjul in celebration - some on foot while others rode in cars and trucks and on motorbikes - as confused soldiers looked on. Following his victory, Al Jazeera caught up with Barrow for an interview. The transcript of the interview has been edited for clarity. Al Jazeera: During your address to the nation and during the campaign, you pledged to carry out some electoral reforms, including a two-term limit for president. Can you elaborate? Adama Barrow: We promised to do a lot of things, including electoral reforms. We will look at everything and avoid making any mistake to arrive at a final document. We want the democratic process to be very smooth in the future. We want a level playing field for every politician in the futur...

At least 20 people have been killed in the central region of the Democratic Republic of Congo when fighters loyal to a local chief clashed with security forces, civil society leaders and residents said. The fighting in Tshikapa, the capital of Kasai province, started on Saturday and continued on Sunday, with the armed fighters taking control of three hills overlooking the town, a local journalist told DPA news agency via telephone. Among the dead were ten soldiers, four police officers and six fighters, he added. The AFP news agency reported a higher death toll of 23. The central region of DR Congo had until now been generally peaceful, as opposed to the east of the country, where dozens of armed groups vie for control over territory and mineral resources. The aim of the armed men was to seize local government buildings as well as the airport, according to witness reports. Local government officials, including the deputy governor, had fled Tshikapa when the clashes reached the cent...