Gambia’s new president to arrive in the country on Thursday

A West African regional military force that was poised to oust Jammeh if diplomatic talks failed has been securing Gambia for Barrow’s arrival. He has been waiting for the force to confirm that it was safe for him to return, spokesman Halifa Sallah said.

A new inauguration will be held on Gambian soil, said Sallah, speaking on Senegalese radio. “We will organize a ceremony soon at the stadium. It will be an occasion to show strength. Everyone will be invited. The president will address his people.”

Barrow has requested that the regional force remain in Gambia for six months, but it is unclear whether heads of state with the regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, will approve a deployment for that long.

The new president has been busy this week forming his Cabinet and has named a woman, Fatoumata Tabajang, as vice-president. She has vowed to seek prosecution for Jammeh, who flew with family and close aides to Equatorial Guinea.

On Tuesday, Gambia’s lawmakers lifted the country’s state of emergency and revoked a three-month extension of Jammeh’s term, as the new government began dismantling his final attempts to cling to power.

Victims of human rights abuses under the previous government “will have the benefit of appearing before a human rights commission,” Sallah told reporters Wednesday.

“There will, in fact, be a freedom of information act,” he added. “The desire is to expand the right to freedom of expression and freedom of media.”

Carley Petesch, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Gambia’s new president to arrive in the country on Thursday

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