Gambia’s leader Yahya Jammeh said on Saturday he was stepping down under pressure from West African armies which entered the country this week following his refusal to concede an election defeat to President Adama Barrow.
Jammeh is yet to leave the presidential palace but his announcement on state television overnight appears to signal an end of a political impasse. It also brings to a close a reign that began in 1994 when he seized power in a coup.
In practice, Jammeh had little choice after some 7,000 soldiers from Nigeria and Senegal entered Gambia on Thursday backed by tanks and warplanes. They were poised to move into the capital as Jammeh’s army provided no resistance, reports Reuters.
“I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation,” said Jammeh, dressed in a white robe and looking tired.
“All those who have supported me or were against me in this period, I implore them to put the supreme interest of our nation the Gambia above all partisan interest and endeavour to work together as one nation,” he added.
Jammeh made no mention of whether he would go into exile but said he was leaving power in the national interest and was grateful there was no bloodshed during the political stalemate.
He spent much of Friday in talks in Banjul with the presidents of Guinea and Mauritania over where he would live and whether he could be offered amnesty for alleged crimes committed during his years in power, said sources close to talks.
Those talks were yet to be concluded and some in Banjul said they were angry he was being allowed to bargain and sceptical he would in fact step down, not least because he first accepted he lost the Dec. 1 election to Barrow and then changed his mind.
In a last bid to cling to power this week, he declared a state of emergency, dissolved the cabinet and the National Assembly extended his term for three months. More than half the government resigned and 45,000 people fled to Senegal.
“It’s hard because we want our freedom now. But this man he can say this today and tomorrow it can be different. That’s the kind of person he is,” said Ismaila Ndiaye, 61, a plumber and stone mason as he gathered with others close to State House.
Patience Williams, 50, a dental nurse, derided the West African leaders for not taking a tougher line and said: “He’s a stubborn man. It should be surrender, handcuffs or death.”
