The Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow is to remain in Senegal until his planned inauguration on Thursday, state media in Senegal say.<\/p>\n
The move was requested by West African leaders after a Mali summit, APS said.<\/p>\n
President Yahya Jammeh, who initially admitted election defeat, says he will not step down until May, when the supreme court can hear his challenge.<\/p>\n
Regional bloc Ecowas wants the UN to approve military action if Mr Barrow’s inauguration on Thursday is blocked.<\/p>\n
On Saturday leaders repeated their calls for Mr Jammeh to go voluntarily at an Africa-France summit in Bamako.<\/p>\n
Mali’s president Ibrahim Keita called for “proverbial African wisdom” to prevail to avert a bloodbath and there are growing fears that the uncertainty could cause a refugee exodus.<\/p>\n
Thousands of Gambians, mostly women and children, have already crossed the border into neighbouring Senegal and further afield to Guinea-Bissau, where they do not require a visa, officials say.<\/p>\n
Mr Barrow, who beat Mr Jammeh in last month’s election, was at the Bamako summit and was referred to as the president.<\/p>\n
Last week Nigeria’s president flew to the Gambian capital Banjul to try to broker a deal but Mr Jammeh would not relinquish power.<\/p>\n
Mr Jammeh’s attempt to overturn the election result has been delayed because of a shortage of judges but his legal team has asked for an injunction to block Mr Barrow’s inauguration.<\/p>\n
The African Union has said it will no longer recognise Mr Jammeh’s rule after his term ends.<\/p>\n
The 51-year-old leader seized power in the country in 1994 and has been accused of human rights abuses, although he has held regular elections.<\/p>\n
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Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow is to remain in Senegal until his planned inauguration on Thursday, state media in Senegal say. The move was requested by West African leaders after a Mali summit, APS said. President Yahya Jammeh, who initially admitted election defeat, says he will not step down until May, when the supreme court […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":284983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[2692,2436,3038,2437],"yoast_head":"\n