BANJUL (Reuters) – The Gambia Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an opposition appeal against incumbent President Adama Barrow’s victory in the presidential election, ruling the proceedings flawed, court documents show.
Adama Barrow won the vote on December 4 with 53% of the vote. His main rival, Ousainou Darboe, who won around 28% of the vote, and two other opposition candidates contested the results, brushing off alleged problems at polling stations, without providing evidence of their accusations.
“I call on the opposition (…) to unconditionally accept the verdict of the Supreme Court,” said Adama Barrow. “My rivals then have all recourse and must now join forces to develop the country.”
Ousainou Darboe’s United Democratic Party (UDP) seized the Supreme Court in the week following the poll to demand that the results be quashed, although observers concluded a fair election.
The court dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the UDP had not served its Adama Barrow request within five days of his filing, as required by law, judicial sources have learned.
The decisions of the Supreme Court are final and cannot be appealed.
In a message posted on Facebook, Ousainou Darboe felt that it was in no way a defeat. “We have not lost anything because the appeal was not rejected on the merits, but on a simple technical point,” he wrote, without indicating whether he or his party planned to continue contesting the electoral results.
(Pap Saine report; French version Dina Kartit, said by Sophie Louet and Jean Terzian)
by Pap Saine