Gambia elections: Adama Barrow declared presidential election winner

The Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has easily won re-election, authorities there said, in the first vote for decades held without long-term leader Yahya Jammeh.

President Barrow received around 53% of Saturday’s vote, with nearest rival – a lawyer, Ousainou Darboe – on 28%.

Darboe and other candidates earlier said they could not accept the results of the poll.

The vote is being seen as a test for democracy in the country.

In the last election, Barrow defeated Yahya Jammeh, who now lives in exile after refusing to accept the result.

Jammeh’s 22-year rule was marked by allegations of abuse, with witnesses recently telling a truth commission about state-backed execution squads and Aids patients being forced to take bogus cures.

Despite his exile, Jammeh remains an influential figure, addressing supporters remotely during campaigning and urging them not to vote for Barrow. BBC