The top judge in Gambia’s Supreme Court declined on Monday to rule on President Yahya Jammeh’s petition to overturn his election defeat, as many Gambians wait nervously to see how the veteran leader will react to his rival’s planned inauguration this week. Jammeh initially conceded defeat to opposition leader Adama Barrow following the Dec. 1 poll but later changed his mind, drawing widespread condemnation and the threat of a military intervention by regional neighbours. Whether Gambia succeeds in swearing in Barrow is viewed as a test for democracy in West Africa, a region which is seeking to draw a line under a history of coups and autocratic rule.
The Supreme Court has not sat for over a year and all the judge’s seats bar that of the chief justice are unoccupied. Jammeh has hired judges from Nigeria and Sierra Leone to hear the petitions, but they have failed to arrive in Gambia.
“It is crystal clear that the justices from Nigeria and Serra Leone are not coming,” the court’s Nigerian Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle said.
Full Article: Gambia Supreme Court judge declines to rule on president’s election challenge | News by Country | Reuters.
