Gambia’s President-elect , Adama Barrow is set to be sworn in later today at country’s embassy in neighboring Senegal.
In message, posted on twitter earlier today, 19th January 2017, Adama Barrow’s, invited the general public to attend the ceremony.
Last-ditch efforts by regional leaders to convince President Yahya Jammeh to step down as president failed overnight, reports the BBC.
He lost elections last month, but wants the results annulled citing errors in the electoral process.
Some reports have also indicated the Barrow who is backed by the West African military forces will match to Gambia capital Banjul and force out Jameh.
The troops believed to have also camp overnight at the borders of Gambia are said to be ready to enforce a transfer of power in The Gambia, a popular beach destination among European holidaymakers.
“After swearing in, the allied forces will enter Gambia with the new President,” said one official of Barrow.
Tensions still remain in The Gambia today as many people chose to remain indoors anticipating chaos after the deadline for Jammeh’s handing over power elapsed at midnight last night.
Efforts to persuade Jamah to peacefully handover power proved futile as last minute meetings with Mauritian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz seem to have also yielded nothing.
Residents say they saw blacked tinted cars zoom past them just immediately after Jameh met with the President Aziz.
There have also been speculations the Military strong many could have left for the Mauritania.
Others however, say Jameh’s plane has been spotted in the middle of the tarmac at the airport said to be fully fuelled and on standby incase he is caught in the middle of a confrontation.
In what seems to be his last moments of his rule, Jameh’s lawyer Edward Gomez slipped out of the country together with his family where he has issued an official statement from Senegal urging the Military rule to hand over power and avoid spilling innocent blood.
“Please step aside in the interest of peace and love for your compatriots. Everything except God’s Kingdom, comes to an end. Do not allow your legacy to be described as one where ‘the pen of the sword dipped in innocent blood writes its history on the rough pages of tyranny,” Gomezi’s letter reads in part.
“Remember, your excellence, that life is short we take nothing with us at the end of it.Our reward lies in our faithful worship and good deeds.The voice of the people is the voice of God, please step aside in the interest of peace and love for your compatriots,” he said.
Why Mr Jammeh is has refused to hand over power to Barrow?
Mr Jammeh initially accepted that Mr Barrow had won the election but later reversed his position saying he had discovered the some electoral officials had stolen the vote in favor of his opponent Barrow. He therefore said he would petition the constitution court to rule over the matter.
He declared a 90-day state of emergency calling for “peace, law and order” after what he said were irregularities in the election process.
He said that along with errors made by the electoral commission, some of his supporters were turned away from polling stations.
In what seems to be a looming military inversion to force Jameh out, ECOWAS forces are said to have surrounded The Gambia with Senegal taking lead. Senegal was chosen to take lead because of its strategic position surrounding Gambia.
