Gambia President Jammeh Quits After Suffering Election Loss
- Jammeh accepts election loss in broadcast on state television
- Opposition candidate Barrow wins by more than 50,000 votes
Yahya Jammeh.
Photographer: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh said he’ll step down after losing this week’s presidential election in a remarkable about-face that prompted thousands of Gambians to celebrate the departure from office of a leader who had vowed to rule for a billion years.
“Gambians have decided that I should take the backseat,” Jammeh said Friday on state television, hours after the election commission declared that opposition leader Adama Barrow, a virtual unknown six months ago, emerged as winner of the Dec. 1 poll. “You have voted for someone to lead our country. This is our country, and I wish you all the best.”