20 Reasons Why Mahama Lost Woefully In The 2016 Election

As Bob Marley once said, “you can fool the people sometimes, but you can never fool all the people all the time”. This is a serious statement but most politician hardly pays attention to this good advice.

The NPP government lost in 2008 because of some things they did that Ghanaians didn’t like, only for the NDC government to step in and repeat the same things and then some. Whenever Ghanaians complained, they were good enough to refer us to what the NPP did.

Ghanaians are a peaceful loving country and really glorify disrespect, that’s why we embrace democracy and as a politician if you don’t take a cue from this and decide to disrespect the elderly, it can easily cause your downfall.

Here are 20 reasons why the sitting president lost woefully.

1. The green book

The NDC campaign team relied so much on the green book instead of telling us what they have actually done. They were quick to insult the flagbearer of the NPP but when asked to tell  us their achievements, they tell us it’s in the book. Ironically, most of the things in the book were artist impressions.

2. Character assassination

Instead of promoting their candidate, the NDC campaign team were too concerned about destroying the image of the opposition candidate forgetting they were in power. This attracted sympathy towards the man, especially when he decided to ignore them.

3. Propaganda

The propaganda was too much and the team probably thought Ghanaians wouldn’t see through it, but we did. Especially when they claim they’ve built this school or that road only for it to turn up as a lie. This really angered the populace especially those close to the area who had first hand knowledge.

4. Opulence

The opulence was too much, most the MP’s and government appointees showed off their V8’s and luxurious living at the mercy of the people, something they couldn’t do in opposition.

5. Electricity bills

The government lost total control of utility bills in the country, making it worse for people to pay amidst it not being stable too.

6. Dumsor

Erratic power cuts collapsed many businesses, and made life a living hell for most of us.

7. Inexperienced appointees

The government appointed too many young men in big positions with absolutely no technical experience. They wake one day and decide we should do things this way or that way and most of this young men showed too much opulence too.

8. Woyome’s deal.

If the government had been able to retrieve Woyome’s debt, things would have been a bit better for him. Failure to recoup Woyome’s money further the impression of the create, loot and share mantra by the NPP. If there’s one person who really caused the downfall of the party, then it’s Woyome.

9. The Brazil saga

How Ghanaians behaved towards the Black Stars after the 2014 World Cup should have sent a clear message to the NDC government. Many Ghanaians felt embarrassed when the government had to fly money all the way to Brazil, a country claiming to be poor, yet you could fly money to Brazil. This act really brought a disaffection towards the NDC government and it spilled over to the national team. We never also saw the report of the investigations that was carried out and the misappropriation of funds.

10. Nurses Allowance

The government scrapping the nursing training allowance was a very big mistake.

11. Teacher’s allowance.

12. Unpleasant utterances

Most of the utterances from the NDC government and its party members were absolutely horrible;

i) the yentia obiaa statement
ii) the dead goat statement
iii) Ghanaians should board a trotro or buy a bicycle if they think fuel prices are high
iv) Ghanaians have short memories
v) Ghanaians should move out of the country if we think the nation is too hard to live in
vi) Short men can’t be president in this country, forgetting most Ghanaians are of average height etc.

These and more portrayed the NDC government as disrespectful in the eyes of Ghanaians.

13. Outrageous taxes

Due to misappropriation of state funds, the government had to burden the people of Ghana with taxes, taxes they’ve never seen before. Many Ghanaians were very rightly angry with the government over this.

14. Misplaced priorities

How do you build an airport in Ho when the distance from Accra to Ho is just 192.4 km, a 2 hours drive when the people had more pressing issues that needed to be solved.

15. Nonpayment of salaries

Besides all the burden, the government refused to pay the meager salaries for teachers and nurses. Salaries could delay for 2 years only for the government to pay 3 months arrears and cancel the rest. This action really infuriated a lot of Ghanaians on governments’ payroll.

16. Montie 3

The government pardoning the trio even infuriated some NDC members because many saw it as an abuse of power and a disrespect to the judiciary.

17. Gitmo 2

Accepting known terrorist into the country really brought fear and panic among Ghanaians and many felt it was a threat to our national security. The worse case was when Ghanaians realised the government actually took money to bring them in. Many were those who felt the government could sell us for anything.

18. Bus branding

This was a heartbreaker, to think that the government could brand buses at that outrageous amount really broke the hearts of many Ghanaians, especially when most of us were hungry and couldn’t pay our bills.

19. GYEEDA and SADA

Money meant for a social intervention programme was abused and the responsible parties kept given cock and bull stories and the monies were never refunded.

20. Disrespect of clergymen

If there’s one powerful force in this country besides politics, then it is religion. Many Ghanaians simply listen more to their pastors and prophet, so for the members of the NDC to insult some of these clergymen really got to their members who decided to pay back in any way they can.

Source: omgvoice.com

Now check out these 15 Ghanaians Who Are Tired Of President Mahama.

I'm unable to have erection after NDC's defeat - Appiah Stadium

Kumasi-based National Democratic Congress (NDC) serial caller, Kwaku Appiah, popularly known as Appiah Stadium has said he’s been devastated by the party’s defeat in the December 7 election. 

According to him, he’s not been able to put himself back together after the shocking loss of the elections which the NDC should have won so easily, due to the unpresidented work done by President John Mahama in his first term of office.

 

The NDC lost the general polls, both Presidential and Parliamentary in an election that the party was so confident of winning, due to the massive infrastructural development carried out by President John Mahama in his first term of office.

 But on Friday, December 9, 2016, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, declared the NPP’s presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo winner and President-elect of the Republic of Ghana. 

The opposition leader polled 5,716, 026 votes to beat the incumbent President John Dramani Mahama who garnered 4,713,277 votes out of the 10,615,361 valid votes cast. The NDC’s painful defeat suffered at the hands of its arch political opponent has caused some angry and disappointed members including former the Ejusi Juaben, MCE moving from one radio station to another mentioning names of certain key party and government officials whose actions and inactions they claim caused the NDC’s downfall. 

But speaking to Kasapa News, Appiah Stadium also blamed the bad attitude of some leading members such as Campaign Coordinator, Kofi Adams for the NDC defeat. “That man, his arrogance cannot be rivaled.

 After he assumed office as the National Organizer of the NDC even when he looks at you, you’ll not even feel like voting for President John Mahama.” Appiah Stadium, added that the NDC’s defeat has even affected his sexual life.

 Honestly speaking, I’ve never had an erection after NDC was defeated in the December 7 election due to the shock that I’ve had after we lost the polls. I just don’t know when I’ll be able to put myself together again. The sort of work President Mahama has done in about four years, there’s no reason why the party should have lost this election. 

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5 INCUMBENT PRESIDENTS WHO CONCEDED DEFEAT IN AFRICA

December 7th, 2016 marked the end of two historic Presidential campaigns where President John Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo fought viciously in hopes of leading the nation.

Ghanaians cast their votes last Wednesday and the winner was revealed on Friday evening. NPP’s Nana Addo defeated NDC’s Mahama, with 53.85% of votes cast, verse 44.40%. But, it seemed like a large number  of Ghanaians made their choice  based on who was the best of the worst on election day.

It leads the question, what is the chance of re-election if they face someone less disliked than their current opponent or themselves? Below is a list of the presidents who failed to win a second term and the reasons why they came up short.

1. John Mahama: The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, is the next president of the Republic of Ghana. The Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, declared Nana Akufo-Add0 President-elect on Friday evening making him the fifth president of Ghana’s fourth republic.

Nana Addo, aged 72, secured the Presidency at the third time of asking beating the incumbent, President John Mahama. President Mahama becomes the first incumbent to lose a presidential election since Ghana returned to multi-party democracy in 1992. Nana Akufo-Addo secured 53.8 percent votes beating incumbent president, John Mahama to win the presidency.

2. Goodluck Jonathan: Nigerians are so used to the idea that an incumbent should win presidential elections that President Goodluck Jonathan’s failure to beat General Muhammadu Buharineeds some explaining.

Past elections have been marred by serious irregularities and suspicions of rigging. In 2007 observers said the presidential poll was not “credible”. In 2011 the vote was considered to be better run but observers said that rigging and fraud still took place.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer and its largest economy, but many fail to feel the benefits with nearly half the population living below the poverty line. Continued corruption is seen as partly being to blame.

National income is due to grow by more than 5% this year and next year. APC supporters chanted “change” wherever they went and it seems to have caught the mood. The PDP has been in power since the end of military rule in 1999, and 2015 is the year that Nigerians decided that someone else should have a go at sorting things out.

3. Laurent Gbagbo: Born in 1945, Laurent Gbagbo is a classically educated academic now widely regarded as a leader who was willing to destroy his country, Côte d’Ivoire,  by refusing to accept defeat at the ballot box.

After 20 years in opposition, he came to power in 2000 when military leader Robert Guei’s attempts to rig elections were defeated by street protests in the main city, Abidjan.

In April 2011, Mr Gbagbo was himself forced from office – captured in a bunker at the presidential palace by UN and French-backed forces supporting his rival Alassane Ouattara, internationally regarded as the winner of elections five month earlier. The conflict killed some 3,000 people. Mr Gbagbo faces four charges of crimes against humanity – murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and “other inhuman acts”. He denies the charges, saying he is the victim of a French plot.

Mr Gbagbo has suffered from post-traumatic stress in prison, but judges in 2015 rejected his request to be temporarily released on health grounds.

4. Abdoulaye Wade: He was born in Kébémer, Senegal; officially, he was born in 1926, although some claim he was born several years earlier, and the record-keeping of the time is not considered particularly reliable.

He was President of Senegal from 2000 to 2012. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalse Democratic Party (PDS) (PDS) and has led the party since it was founded in 1974. A long-time opposition leader, he ran for President four times, beginning in 1978, before he was elected in 2000. He won re-election in 2007 with a majority in the first round, but in 2012, Abdoulaye Wade conceded defeat to challenger Mack Sall as initial results in the presidential run-off election showed the opposition candidate.

5. Joyce Banda: In African politics, it’s hard for incumbents to lose an election given all the state resources at their disposal. While bookmakers believed the eleven-horse race would give Banda hot competition very few expected her to lose after just over two years in power. She was expected to stay around a bit longer as the second woman to become president of an African country after Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Previously touted as transparent, Malawi’s election proved chaotic amid polling day havoc and vote counting anomalies. Incumbent Joyce Banda cried foul over preliminary results, but an electoral commission recount upheld opposition leader Peter Mutharika’s win. Malawi’s leaders, the AU and SADC must continue to promote stability to protect democracy and the will of the Malawian people.

6. There is also Yahya Jammeh, longtime ruler of The Gambia, has lost the presidential election to the opposition leader, according to the electoral commission. Adama Barrow’s victory in the West African country may bring to an end Jammeh’s 22-year rule.

Jammeh, who came to power in 1994 as a 29-year-old army officer following a military coup, had won four previous polls. Barrow received 263,515 votes while Jammeh won 212,099, Alieu Momarr Njai, the electoral commission head, said in the capital Banjul.

Eight opposition parties united behind Barrow and the election campaign period featured large opposition rallies and unprecedented expressions of frustration with Jammeh’s rule.

The UN Security Council demanded that Gambia’s leader Yahya Jammeh hand over power.

Still, Jammeh had projected confidence, saying his victory was all but assured by God and predicting “the biggest landslide in the history of the country.” Yahya Jammeh announced a legal challenge to an election in which he had already conceded defeat, in a weekend of dramatic twists that sparked international furore and fear of a crackdown. We await to see the outcome.

Source: Pulse Ghana

Nana Names Ministers

Barring any last minute hitches, the President Elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, would present his list of ministers, deputy Ministers among others to the National Executive Committee of the party today.

Credible information available to The Chronicle indicates that this is not the first time Nana Addo has taken such a decision. The paper understands the list containing members of the Transitional Team from the NPP side who are currently working with the government for a smooth transfer of power were first submitted to the Steering Comm

ittee before the names were made public.

According to sources, the submission of the list to the Executive Committee is a complete departure from the norm. Almost all presidents that have ruled this country since 1992 did their appointments without first submitting the list to the party for vetting.

The president elect has, however, kept the names on the list close to his chest. This reporter has, nevertheless, been told that the ministers would be coming from the following names: Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Kwamena Duncan and Afenyo Markin from the Central Region; Nana Obiri Boahen, Prof Gyan Baffuor, Kwaku Agyeman Manu representing Brong Ahafo Region; Samuel Atta Akyea, Dan Kwaku Botwe, Boakye Agyarko and Nana Akomea from the Eastern Region.

Others are Kofi Dzamasi, Peter John Amewu, Micheal Yaw Gyato and Rashid Bawa representing the Volta bloc; Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Dr AkotoOsei, Dr Afriyie Akoto, K.T. Hammond, Alan Kyerematen and youthful Joseph Asiamah are being considered from the Ashanti Region; Dr Amin Anta, Dominic Nitiwul, Hajia Alima Mahama and Otiko Djaba from the Northern Region; Ambrose Dery and Anthony Abayifa Kaboo representing Upper West Region; Kofi Adda and Boniface Agambila from Upper East; Joe Ghartey, Dr. Owusu Afriyie  and Joseph Boahen Aidoo from Western Region; Gloria Akuffo, Ayikoi Otoo, Naa Torshie and Philip Addison also coming from the Greater Accra region.

The 1992 Constitution mandates the president to appoint members of his cabinet from all the ten regions of Ghana, with majority of them coming from Parliament.

Majority of the names mentioned above, which the president is considering for appointments, are either Members of Parliament or Members of Parliament Elect.

The notable exceptions are Nana Akomea, Dr Owusu Afriyie, Boahen Aidoo, Kwamena Duncan, Asamoah Boateng, Naa Torshie, Ayikoi Otoo, Gloria Akuffo, Boakye Agyarko and Philip Addison.

Specific ministries, which these party stalwarts would be heading, have not been disclosed. But deep throat sources within the party said Nana Akomea, who successfully handled the communications aspect of the NPP campaign may be asked to head the Information Ministry. The five times Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, Mr. K.T. Hammond, may be heading the Energy ministry.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General is a straight fight between Philip Addison and Ayikoi Otoo, who once headed that ministry during Kufuor's regime. Hajia Alima Mahama and Otiko Afisa Djaba would also slug it out for the Gender Ministry.

Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, also known as Napo, who successfully partnered the Minority Leader to articulate the policies of the party in Parliament for the past eight years, is also going to battle with Dr Owusu Afriyie for appointment to the Health Ministry.

Dr. Napo, from our sources, might also be considered for Ministry of Environment and Science.  Either Boakye Agyarko, the former Campaign Manager for Nana Addo or Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei might get the nod to head the Finance Ministry, which would directly be supervised by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumiah.

Ken Ofori Atta, whose name has come up as the possible candidate for the Finance Ministry, The Chronicle gathered, is a remote possibility. From our sources, Ken Ofori Atta's candidature would only become possible if Boakye Agyarko gets the nod as the new Chief of Staff.

With the exception of the positions just mentioned, and good old Professor Mike Ocquaye, who is surely going to be Ghana's next Speaker of Parliament, the credible source could not tell which ministries some of the names on the list would be heading to.

Sources within the top echelons of the party also told The Chronicle that the current Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu would be asked to stay in parliament, but would assume a new role as Majority Leader to prosecute the agenda of the party in the august House.

Most of the senior ministers who served in the Kufuor's government – Hackman Owusu Agyeman, Papa Owusu Ankomah, Osafo Maafo and Dr Addo Kufuor among others, would also be sent to head our foreign missions, with Papa Owusu Ankomah having the chance of joining cabinet, depending on the advice the National Executive Committee would give.

Source: By Ghanaian Chronicle

Akufo-Addo presents ministerial list to NPP today

The President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo will today present his list of potential ministerial appointees to the national executive committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). This is the first time Nana Addo is meeting the party leadership following his victory in last week’s presidential elections. 

He has so far met the Greater Accra regional House of Chiefs, the Asanteman Council and other relevant bodies in the country. The party leadership is also expected to present a list of potential appointees for his consideration. The NPP defeated the ruling NDC in last week's Presidential and parliamentary polls. More coming stay tuned...

Ghanaian Woman Gets Attacked, Tortured By Her Boyfriend For Voting NPP Political Party.

See what a Ghanaian woman got from her romantic boyfriend for exercising her basic human right by voting for a political party of her choice in the recently concluded Presidential election.

Her boyfriend allegedly tortured her for disobeying his orders by voting for the New Patriotic Party.

Why would a woman still remain in a violent relationship like this??

This is too barbaric. Hope the fleeing suspect is apprehended soon.

Tips On How To Increase Stamina

There are those of us who have become obsessed with synthetic pills that manufacturers say increase stamina in bed. Use of these synthetic pills has shown that they have often an opposite impact!. So, for those men who are wondering how to increase stamina in bed, it is good news that there are a number of natural tips that help men to increase stamina in bed without having to worry about the side effects that come with the synthetic aphrodisiacs.

Surround yourself with red color

To begin with, color has been found by psychologists to have great impact on people’s S-EX”-xual stamina. Some of us may not understand how red color plays a big role in boosting people’s S-EX”-xual drive. The red color is known to increase S-EX”-xual activity for both S-EX”-xes. Foods and drinks that are red in color are known to positively bolster the S-EX”-xual stamina of both S-EX”-xes. It has however been noted that the red color has a profounder impact on the S-EX”-xual vitality of men.

Reduce stress

Many S-EX”-xual troubles have been found to have been caused by stress and depression. It is therefore imperative to avoid entertaining the two enemies. Stress and depression interfere with your hormonal setting and deny you the much needed S-EX”-xual drive. Depression and stress will obviously affect your eating habits since they decrease your appetite. Since there are certain kinds of foods that one should eat to increase their S-EX”-xual stamina, the two mean that since your appetite is diminished, then your S-EX”-xual drive will also below because of your failure to eat the recommended foods.

Home made remedies

There is a special formula booster for men that help them recover their full natural S-EX”-xual vitality. A mixture of top quality flower honey and ginger works miracles. Add to it some Indian saffron, some pounded cardamom, some powdered coriander, some stinging nettle seeds, put some little royal jelly, at least a spoonful of pollen, some good measure of pistachio nut, and some pine nut. Stir the mixture thoroughly. If none of the ingredients will cause allergic reactions, then take at least two spoonfuls a day. You are no doubt going to experience incredibly increased S-EX”-xual vitality.

British Airways crew vote for Heathrow strike

The dispute concerns about 4,000 staff who have joined the airline since 2010

About 2,000 British Airways cabin crew have voted overwhelmingly for strikes in a dispute over pay, the Unite union said.

The workers, who represent about 15% of the airline's cabin crew, were balloted about the plan to strike at Heathrow.

The vote comes after cabin crew rejected a 2% pay rise.

Strike action could begin after 21 December, but Unite has not confirmed whether the strike would affect travellers over Christmas.

BA said Unite was "creating uncertainty" for passengers.

Tensions have been running high over pay and conditions at the airline.
Some 79% of crew that took part in the ballot voted for action, Unite said, urging British Airways to return to the negotiating table.

The dispute concerns about 4,000 staff who have joined the airline since 2010 on "Mixed Fleet" contracts, who do not feel they are paid enough. About 2,500 of them are Unite members.

Earnings were advertised between £21,000 and £25,000 but, in reality, start at just over £12,000 plus £3 an hour flying pay, Unite said.

Second jobs

"Not surprisingly, the crew have rejected a 2% pay offer and on-board customer service managers are furious," the union said.

"They do not have collective bargaining rights. The managers have also endured a six-year pay freeze."

According to a recent Unite survey, half of Mixed Fleet staff have taken on second jobs to make ends meet, and more than two-thirds were going to work "unfit to fly" because they could not afford to be off sick.

It said 84% reported experiencing stress and depression since joining BA because of their financial circumstances.

Some even admitted sleeping in cars between flights, because they could not afford the petrol to get home.

Unite regional officer Matt Smith said: "Not only are the pay rates indefensible, but in aviation, low pay is a safety issue."

A BA spokesman said: "We are extremely disappointed that the union is creating uncertainty for our customers.

"Mixed Fleet Unite represents about 15% of our cabin crew. We remain focused on resolving this issue as quickly as possible without any disruption to customers."

The spokesman added: "We have proposed a fair and reasonable pay increase to Mixed Fleet cabin crew which is in line with that accepted by other British Airways colleagues and which will ensure their reward levels remain in line with cabin crew at our airline competitors."

The Gambia President Jammeh must step aside - UN

The UN's West Africa envoy says Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh must step down when his mandate ends in January and would be "strongly sanctioned" if he sought to remain in power.

Long-ruling Jammeh lost the election to little-known businessman Adama Barrow on December 1 and conceded defeat in a widely celebrated moment of democratic hope for the continent.

But he has since changed his mind and his party is now challenging the outcome at Gambia's Supreme Court.

"For Mr Jammeh, the end is here and under no circumstances can he continue to be president," the UN's special representative Mohammed Ibn Chambas told Reuters news agency by telephone on Wednesday.

Chambas also told AFP news agency that "by January 19, he [Jammeh] should be ready to hand over power".

On Monday, Barrow had called for the president to step down "now" as his coalition became increasingly frustrated by Jammeh's refusal to admit defeat.

Jammeh has alleged that the election was rigged and called for a recount and fresh polls.

There are worries within the opposition camp that Jammeh could try to cling on to power pending the outcome of the legal case lodged on Wednesday by the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reconciliation and Construction (APRC).

'Outrageous act of disrespect'

Chambas' spokesman had earlier told AFP that the security forces' ongoing occupation of Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission - the object of the APRC's legal complaint - was an "unacceptable act". 

"It is a violation of the independent nature, guaranteed by the constitution, of the electoral commission, as some soldiers have taken away commission materials relating to the presidential election," the spokesman added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the government takeover of electoral offices, calling it an "outrageous act of disrespect of the will of the Gambian people and defiance towards the international community".

The electoral commission's chairman, Alieu Momar Njie, dismissed Jammeh's legal challenge of the election result as unworkable due to a lack of judges on the Supreme Court.

"The only way they can pursue the commission is through the court, and there is no court," Njie said.

To meet the January 18 deadline, he would need to appoint as many as six judges to the Supreme Court, which has laid dormant since May 2015. Lawyers continued a planned boycott of the court system on Wednesday in protest at Jammeh's legal fight.

The country's most influential lawyers' group, the Bar Association, said any appointment of judges by Jammeh to decide on a case involving himself would be fundamentally unjust.

Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said on Tuesday that a heavyweight delegation of four African leaders including herself had failed to reach a consensus with Jammeh and Barrow on a transition of power.

"We come to help Gambians find their way through a transition. That's not something that can happen in one day," said Sirleaf.

Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, reporting from Senegal, which borders Gambia, said that the visiting West African heads of state have left Gambia "empty-handed", without agreements or deals, despite serious efforts to persuade Jammeh to provide a smooth transition of power.

Gambia: Regional Leaders Fail to Reach Deal with Jammeh

By Edward McAllister

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s ruling party challenged his defeat in a Dec. 1 election at the Supreme Court on Tuesday as West African leaders failed to reach a deal that would see him accept the result and end a deepening political crisis.

Soldiers also seized the headquarters of the national elections commission and sealed it off just hours before the mediation delegation representing regional bloc ECOWAS touched down in the tiny riverside nation.

Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia since taking power in a 1994 coup and is accused of widespread rights abuses, initially conceded defeat to his main challenger, Adama Barrow. But in a dramatic about-face that drew international condemnation he then rejected the poll results last Friday.

The legal petition filed by the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction now raises the prospect that Barrow’s narrow victory, which was poised to end years of Jammeh’s autocratic rule, may be overturned.

“The petition prays that it be determined that the said Adama Barrow was not duly elected or returned as president and that the said election was void,” read the text of the document submitted to the court and seen by Reuters.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate, led the ECOWAS delegation that also included Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone’s Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana’s John Mahama, who lost an election last week and conceded defeat.

“It is not time for a deal. It is not something that can happen in one day. It is something that we have to work on,” Johnson Sirleaf said as the presidents prepared to leave Gambia.

Regional leaders will discuss the crisis at an ECOWAS summit in Nigeria on Saturday, she said, adding Jammeh had given her assurances that peace and stability would be preserved.

But in an apparent sign that Jammeh was further entrenching his position, security forces seized control of the Independent Electoral Commission headquarters, which holds the original poll records.

“The military came to my office and said I am not to touch anything and told me to leave,” said commission chairman Alieu Momarr Njai. “I am worried for my safety.”

“STANDOFF”

Barrow, who received the unified backing of Gambia’s opposition in the election, has vowed to reverse Jammeh’s most capricious decisions, including a recently announced withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.

“I think everyone knows the issue here. There is a standoff between the government and our side,” Barrow said after meeting the regional heads of state.

If negotiations fail, diplomats say, Gambia’s neighbours might consider removing him by force. Marcel de Souza, head of the ECOWAS commission, told Radio France International on Monday that sending troops was “a conceivable solution”.

Gambia’s president officially has 60 days to hand over power, but his move to challenge the result at the Supreme Court – the legal channel for resolving poll disputes – could put the international community in a difficult position.

Rights groups say Jammeh exerts strong influence over the court, which has not held a session for a year and a half. Legal experts believe that at least four new judges would need to be hired to hear his petition.

With Gambian judges no longer willing to serve on the Supreme Court, foreign judges have increasingly been brought in to hear cases. The current chief justice is from Nigeria.

The role of Gambia’s army will now be critical and the United States said on Monday some military officers had sided with Jammeh.

Army chief General Ousman Badjie had previously called Barrow to pledge his allegiance, the latter’s spokeswoman said. But Badjie’s support for the president-elect appeared far less certain on Tuesday.

“I support the commander in chief, whoever it may be. I support the commander in chief Jammeh,” Badjie told Reuters.

Barrow, who has no official state security detail, said in an interview on Monday he was concerned for his own safety.

Source: africanleadership.co.uk