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Banjul. — The Gambia’s Supreme Court has dismissed a plea by the country’s main opposition party to annul the outcome of the December 4 presidential election, in which incumbent Adama Barrow was announced the winner.
Ousainou Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), said the election campaign had been tainted by bribery and corruption.
“The UDP failed to comply with the requirement of Rule 11 of the Election Petition Rule, which required that you file a motion of petition and security,” Chief Justice Hassan B Jallow wrote in his judgement announced on Tuesday.
Barrow won the December 4 poll with 53 percent of the vote while Darboe, who was the Gambian vice president in Barrow’s administration, secured about 28 percent. Two other candidates refused to accept the results, citing alleged problems at polling stations without providing evidence.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the 73-year-old Darboe said he did not consider the court’s decision a personal loss, since the petition was dismissed on a procedural technicality rather than on the merit of its claims.
“We have not lost anything because the petition was not dismissed based on merit but a mere technicality,” Darboe said.
“We should be proud of ourselves for what we have done and will continue to do for the country.”
Supporters of Gambian President Barrow celebrate his victory in the presidential election in Banjul, Gambia. — Al Jazeera.
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