Adama Barrow was sworn as Gambian President at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, capital of Senegal.
Barrow, who officially became the third head of state of his country, after Dawda Jawara (1970-1994), and Yahya Jammah, in power since 1994 through a coup d’etat, was sworn in in.
Senegalese Prime Minister Mahammed Dionne, foreign ambassadors to Senegal and officials from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) attended the ceremony.
The present president Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jammeh was defeated by Adama Barrow in the 2016 election. Although he initially conceded defeat, on 9 December 2016, he later refused to recognise the results.
Jammeh was President of the Gambia from 1994 to 2017. As a young army officer, he took power in a 1994 military coup. He was elected as President in 1996; he was re-elected in 2001, 2006, and 2011.
Jammeh declared a national state of emergency, while the parliament extended his term in office by 90 days.
At least 26,000 people have fled Gambia for Senegal since the start of the crisis fearing unrest.
Jammeh has resisted strong international pressure for him to step down, but African nations have begun stepping away from him, with Botswana announcing that it no longer recognised him as Gambia’s president.
Jammeh’s refusal to hand over power “undermines the ongoing efforts to consolidate democracy and good governance” in the Gambia and Africa in general.
The African Union announced that it would no longer recognise Jammeh once his mandate expired.