After 22 years in power, Gambia's president will reportedly accept defeat

(Image credit: ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Gambia might be on the verge of seeing its first seamless transfer of power since 1965. After 22 years as leader of the West African country, President Yahya Jammeh seems to have agreed to accept his loss in Thursday's election to estate agent Adama Barrow.

The electoral commission chief noted it was "unprecedented for a Gambian head of state to accept defeat before the final results," BBC reported. Initial counts indicate Jammeh lagging behind Barrow, even in his usual stronghold of Banjul, the capital.

Barrow told Reuters on Friday that he is "expecting a call" from Jammeh. The longtime president has yet to comment and has not confirmed the electoral commission chief's statement. He took power in 1994 in a coup.