A constitutional crisis occurred in Gambia following presidential elections in December 2016, in which challenger Adama Barrow achieved an upset victory over longtime incumbent Yahya Jammeh. It eventually concluded after a military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led to Jammeh’s departure from the country.
Although Jammeh first accepted the victory of Adama Barrow on 1 December, he rejected the election results days later. Jammeh called for the election to be annulled, and appealed to the Supreme Court, which refused to rule on the matter. He then deployed troops to the capital of Banjul and the city of Serekunda. The National Assembly, where Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction held an absolute majority, used emergency measures to extend Jammeh’s rule.
The United Nations and ECOWAS, an organisation The Gambia joined under Jammeh’s rule, called on him to step down. After he refused, ECOWAS assembled a coalition of military forces from Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana to intervene in The Gambia using special provisions in the organisation’s charter. Jammeh’s term was initially scheduled to end on 19 January, and Barrow was sworn in as President of The Gambia in his country’s embassy in Senegal. At his request, ECOWAS troops entered the country that day without resistance of the National Army or the National Guard. The Navy explicitly recognised Barrow as President. ECOWAS troops reached Banjul on 21 January, and Jammeh left the country to exile in Equatorial Guinea. Barrow arrived to The Gambia as President on 26 January.
Initial reactions
Following the announcement of the results of the elections, opposition supporters widely celebrated the surprise victory and were stunned by Jammeh's concession of defeat. Thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Banjul. However, some expressed caution about what Jammeh might do next – suggesting that he could still try to retain power despite what had happened. A businessman said "I will only believe it when I see him leaving state house. He still controls the army, and his family are the top brass."
A few days after the election, 19 opposition prisoners were released, including Ousainou Darboe, the leader of Barrow's United Democratic Party. Darboe had been arrested in April 2016 and sentenced to three years in prison, and his arrest had led to Barrow's candidacy.
Interviewed shortly after the election, Barrow thanked the Gambian people, including those in the diaspora outside of the country, and appealed to them to put aside their differences and work together for the development of their country. He said, "I know Gambians are in hurry but not everything is going to be achieved in one day. I would therefore appeal to all Gambians and friends of the Gambia to join us and help move this great country forward. I don't want this change of regime to be a mere change. I want it to be felt and seen in the wellbeing of the country and all Gambians. So we are calling on all Gambians and friends of the Gambia to help us make the Gambia great again."
Barrow said his early priorities include helping the agriculture sector. He said "We don't have minerals here. The backbone of this country is agriculture. ... Under President Yahya's government, all those farming centres collapsed completely, and they no longer exist." Asked about his plans for judicial reform, he said "We want a free and independent judiciary whereby nobody can influence the judiciary. We will put laws in place to protect those people running the judiciary. They will have that job security, they will have that independence. We will reduce the powers of the president."
Jammeh rejects results
On 9 December 2016, Jammeh appeared on Gambian state television to announce that he had "decided to reject the outcome of the recent election" due to "serious and unacceptable abnormalities ... during the electoral process". He said that a new election should be held under "a god-fearing and independent electoral commission". The announcement came after Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, the chair of the opposition coalition, called for Jammeh's prosecution within a year of the handing over of power in January 2017 and said "We are going to have a national commission for asset recovery" to obtain the return of money and property from Jammeh and his family.