Gambia President Makes U-Turn & Rejects Election Result After Initially Accepting Loss

After publicly conceding electoral defeat last week, President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia has reversed course and is calling for a new election.

Jammeh, who has been the leader of The Gambia for 22 years after a successful coup in 1994, surprised everyone last week when he called the President-elect to wish him well.

On Friday, Jammeh said the Independent Electoral Commission made errors in vote tallies.

“In the same way that I accepted faithfully the results, believing that the IEC was independent and honest and reliable, I hereby reject the results in totality,” Jammeh said in a televised speech.