The victory of Adama Barrow was announced this Sunday evening by the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission. According to the overall results announced, the outgoing president won with 53.2% of the vote.
The Chairman of the Commission, Alieu Momar Njie, announcing the results of the last constituencies to the press, declared Adama Barrow “duly elected to serve as President of the Republic of the Gambia”.
According to the overall results announced, the incumbent president won with 458,519 (out of some 900,000 voters), or just over 53%. Far ahead of his main competitor and former mentor, Ousainou Darboe with 238,253 votes (27.7%).
Adama Barrow welcomed in the evening the smooth running of the election, thanking in particular the Independent Electoral Commission for “organizing as promised a free, fair and transparent election” as well as “the Council of Elders of ECOWAS and former heads of state who have left all their activities to come and accompany us as brothers and sisters.
The wait for the results was long, with partial figures being announced in dribs and drabs since Saturday evening. The final results were finally announced around 9pm local time. Even before the official announcement of the overall results, Ousainou Darboe had made a statement with two other candidates, Mammah Kandeh and Essa Mbaye Faal, to denounce the slow process and to contest the results already published, while calling on the militants to remain calm. They said they were considering what to do next.
This victory of Adama Barrow reappoints him for a second term after his surprise accession to power in 2016.