Africans League

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...

"The bells of freedoms are ringing in the four corners of the Gambia. We are free at last and the thousands of Gambians who were forced into exile can now return home and help rebuild their country. We shall no longer be afraid to hold political discussions in the open. We can now sleep peacefully at night without the men in black breaking in our homes and take us away in front of our children. We are indeed really free. ... Alhamdulillah, change has happened in the Gambia." - Jollof News editorial, December 2, 2016 This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a round-up of short articles following the surprise election victory of opposition candidate Adama Barrow and the even more surprising concession speech by strongman Yahya Jammeh, who has been in power for 22 years. The first is the editorial from JollofNews quoted above. Others are from the Guardian (UK), African Leadership Magazine (UK), Daily Maverick (South Africa, and Foreign Policy (USA) Also of particular interest are th...

2016 is turning out to be a year of global disruption and uncertainty — disruption in the sense of dangerous ruptures and broken links, but also in the positive sense of innovation and fresh ways of thinking. How well can Africa manage these trends? The answer to that question will heavily influence the continent’s ability to pursue the deep transformation it needs. Brexit has sent shock waves through the global economy that could endanger progress in African countries. And for Africa it matters whether Britain will maintain its roles as a driving force behind international development initiatives and a leading aid donor. Brexit is also a symptom of broader trends: populist challenges to established power, rising mistrust of elites, deep concern over inequality, and social fragmentation. All these contribute to a sense that the world is spinning out of control. At the same time, 2016 is proving to be a year of inspirational global advances in technology, finance and energy, as well...

They were taken from their homes, workplaces and places of worship, placed in unmarked cars or vehicles linked to security services and never seen again. In the midst Kenya's counterterrorism operations to eliminate the threat of the al Qaeda-linked terror group Al-Shabaab, the country's security services have been behind at least 34 enforced disappearances of terror suspects, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released Wednesday. In another 11 cases, investigators found remains of people who were last seen in the custody of security agents, their bodies found often miles from where they had been arrested. Witnesses interviewed in the report said those who were behind the operations often carried military or police identification, drove cars with government insignia, and in many cases drove those who were arrested to military bases and police stations. This has lead witnesses and the rights group to believe security forces were behind the disappearances. Disapp...