DAKAR, Senegal (AP) – Gambia’s ruler of more than 22 years announced late Friday that he no longer accepts defeat in the country’s presidential election, reversing course a week after he conceded to his rival.
In a speech on state television, President Yahya Jammeh said that investigations since the Dec. 1 vote have revealed a number of voting irregularities that he called unacceptable.
“I hereby reject the results in totality,” he said in his address that aired late Friday. “Let me repeat: I will not accept the results based on what has happened.”
Only one week ago, a jovial Jammeh was filmed on state television calling opposition candidate Adama Barrow to wish him the best.
“You are the elected president of The Gambia, and I wish you all the best,” Jammeh told Barrow at the time. “I have no ill will.”