President Yahya Jammeh Takes Major Step to Concede to Adama Barrow

 he President of Gambia may have finally come to his senses as he is now looking for a way to reconcile with the President-elect.

President Yahya Jammeh

 

Gambia’s outgoing President Yahya Jammeh on Wednesday appointed a mediator to facilitate meetings between himself and president-elect Adama Barrow, News Agency of Nigeria reports.

 Jammeh who is in the middle of a heated controversy for his refusal to accept the Dec. 1 presidential polls, which saw him, lose power after over two decades of being in power, is now looking for a peaceful way to reconcile with Barrow.

 West African bloc, Economic Community of West African States has been heaping pressure on Jammeh to do the obvious and respect the constitution of his country or face military action, although top mediators from ECOWAS have agreed to use peaceful means to convince him before the due date of the new president's inauguration.

 Barrow, a former real estate agent, who was little known before he announced his candidacy, is scheduled to take office on Jan. 19.

 The ruling party’s secretary general will mediate between Jammeh’s supporters and the opposition to “resolve any mistrust and issues,’’ Jammeh said in a televised address to the nation early Wednesday.

 He refuses to accept the election result because it was “full of arithmetic errors and anomalies, it also could not be credibly explained,’’ the outgoing president added.

Jammeh ordered the justice minister and national assembly to draft a general amnesty bill, while issuing an executive order not to arrest or prosecute citizens for “acts or omissions’’ committed during the pre and post electoral period, between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31.

 The announcement comes a day after the Supreme Court postponed hearing a court petition filed by Jammeh to challenge the election results. The case was adjourned to Monday, since only one of a required minimum of five judges was present, the court’s registrar said.

 Several West African heads of state meanwhile postponed a meeting with Jammeh aimed at helping to resolve the political crisis from Wednesday to Friday.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)