Speaking to reporters on Friday, the president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said West African leaders will send troops into Gambia if the outgoing President Yahya Jammeh refused to step down in January after his suprised lost in December 1st Presidential polls.
According Mr Marcel de Souza, if there is going to be any military intervention, Senegal is chosen by ECOWAS to lead it to flush Jammeh out and institute people’s verdict.
that the regional bloc has chosen Senegal to lead any military intervention if Jammeh does not hand over power to President-Elect Adama Barrow.
“The deadline is Jan. 19 when the mandate of Jammeh expires, if he doesn’t go, we have a standby force, which is already on alert. And it’s this standby force that should be able to intervene to restore the will of the people,” de Souza told reporters.
This would not be the first time when ECOWAS intervened in regional crisis, they intervened in Mali in 2013 when the then President Toumani Touray was overthrown. Meanwhile, there are hopes that diplomacy may work to make Jammeh accept his Dec. 1 election defeat.
After receiving both local and international praises for his magnanimous act of accepting defeat, Jammeh reneged on his concession to fabricate lies that there were irregularities in the vote count. As a result, he declared on national television that the election is null and void, a power he does not have.
However, President-Elect is continuing to receive both national and international endorsement as the Lord Mayor of Banjul, Abdoulie Bah has paid a courtesy call him on Friday. Before which, the Supreme Islamic, Gambia Islamic union, Gambia Christian Council and many more.
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