Gambian president headed for landslide re-election, but opposition candidates dispute results


Preliminary results from Saturday's election in the West African nation of Gambia suggest that incumbent President Adama Barrow is virtually guaranteed to win a second term, but some opposition candidates have announced they will not accept the election results, Reuters reports.
With 50 of Gambia's 53 constituencies reporting, Barrow has won approximately 54 percent of the vote. There are five other candidates on the ballot, and Barrow needs only a plurality to win.
This presidential election was the first in mainland Africa's smallest nation since former dictator Yahya Jammeh went into exile in 2017. Observers had hoped that this election would definitively move Gambia into a post-Jammeh era of democracy and rule of law, but three candidates' refusal to accept Barrow's apparent victory casts the nation's future into doubt.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Gambia scores a 37 out of 100 (with zero indicating the highest possible amount of corruption) on Transparency International's 2020 Perceived Corruption Index, which measures "perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople." The worldwide average is 43. Denmark and New Zealand, each with a score of 88, top the list.
Jammeh first took power in a 1994 coup. His long presidency was characterized by human rights abuses and widespread corruption. He has also been accused of rape.
Barrow defeated Jammeh in the 2016 election, but Jammeh disputed the results and attempted to remain in power. He fled to Equatorial Guinea only after neighboring countries threatened military intervention to oust him.
The three candidates disputing the results are Mama Kandeh, Essa Mbye Faal, and Ousainou Darboe, a veteran politician who — according to the most recent reports — is in second place with less than half of Barrow's vote count. Kendeh is the leader of a political faction that Jammeh founded and has supported from exile.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Book reviews: 'America, América: A New History of the New World' and 'Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson'
Feature A historian tells a new story of the Americas and the forgotten story of a pioneering preacher
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Israel approves plan to take over Gaza indefinitely
speed read Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is 'on the eve of a forceful entry'
-
Putin talks nukes as Kyiv slated for US air defenses
speed read 'I hope they will not be required,' Putin said of nuclear weapons on Russian state TV
-
US, Ukraine sign joint minerals deal
speed read The Trump administration signed a deal with Ukraine giving the US access to its mineral wealth
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Israel launches air strike on Beirut suburbs
Speed Read The attack targeting Hezbollah was Israel's third on the Lebanese capital since November's ceasefire
-
Dozens dead in Kashmir as terrorists target tourists
Speed Read Visitors were taking pictures and riding ponies in a popular mountain town when assailants open fired, killing at least 26
-
Israel blames 'failures' for killing of medics
speed read 14 Gaza medics and 1 U.N. employee were killed by IDF special forces
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago