DAKAR, Senegal (Reuters) — Gambian President-elect Adama Barrow will be sworn into office on Gambian territory on Thursday (January 19), Senegal’s Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye said on Wednesday (January 18), despite the incumbent, Yahya Jammeh, refusing to step down.
“President-elect Barrow will be sworn in tomorrow on Gambian territory, he will form his government, he will name his vice-president, and the international community will join him,” he said on Senegal state television.
It was not immediately clear when or where the inauguration would take place, but Barrow’s spokesman, Halifa Sallah, told journalists in the capital Banjul that supporters would celebrate once Barrow if officially in State House.
“It is very clear that the inauguration that should have taken place at the National Stadium will not be taking place as planned and all those who are supporters of the Coalition are being asked to prepare themselves for the commemoration, the celebration that will eventually take place when President-elect Barrow actually is in the State House,” said Sallah.
Diplomatic sources say Barrow, who is currently in Senegal, can take the presidential oath anywhere on Gambian soil or in one of Gambia’s embassies.
Sallah added that Barrow’s team in Senegal were preparing the inauguration and that no one could stop him from being sworn in.
“They have an alternative means of developing their own inauguration committees and they are working on their own inauguration. President-Elect Barrow is the Executive. Nobody else has executive powers. He has said his right to be elected and his right to assume office cannot be abrogated by any force on this earth. That is very clear,” he added, without giving details of the location.
Senegal’s forces are at the Gambian border and will enter at midnight if veteran Jammeh refuses to leave power, Colonel Abdou Ndiaye, a spokesman for the Senegalese army, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Jammeh, who lost a December 1 election to opposition leader Barrow, said he would not step down, citing irregularities in the vote. His official mandate was due to end at midnight GMT.
