(JollofNews) – President Yahya Jammeh Thursday made a desperate bid at the supreme court to stop President-elect Adama Barrow from being sworn-in pending the outcome of his election petition.
Mr Barrow is due to be sworn-in next Friday as the Gambia’s third president after he was declared winner of last month’s presidential election by the country’s electoral commission.
Mr Jammeh had initially conceded defeat and praised the electoral system as rigged proof. He changed his mind a week later and declared the results null and void citing huge and unacceptable mistakes by the electoral commission.
He later filed a suit at the supreme court asking judges to determine that Adama Barrow was not duly elected or returned as president, and that the said election was void.
But the court is unable to hold a hearing until May – as most of the judges come from neighbouring countries – and Mr Jammeh’s mandates ends on January 18th.
He has since filed another motion asking the supreme court to issue an order restraining Mr Barrow from presenting himself before the chief justice of the Gambia or any judicial or quasi-judicial officer or any person in whatever capacity whatsoever for swearing-in or inauguration as president of the Gambia on January 19th 2017 or any other date pending the determination of the election petition.
He also wants the court to make an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Chief Justice of the Gambia, his agents, servants, workers, employees, or any person acting in judicial or quasi-judicial capacity from swearing-in and or inaugurating Adama Barrow as president of the Gambia on January 19th 2017 or any other date pending the determination of the election petition.
The suit which was prepared by Mr Jammeh’s lawyer, Edward Gomez and supported with the sworn affidavit of Seedy Njie, a nominated member of the National Assembly, minister of Information and spokesman for Mr Jammeh’s APRC party, also wants the court to make an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Mr Jammeh, his government, agents, servants, workers, employees or any person acting in whatever capacity from preparing, arranging, organising, conducting, partaking or participating in any manner or form in the swearing-in and/inaugurating of Mr Barrow.
Mr Jammeh further asked the court to issue an order restraining the National Assembly of the Gambia, its speaker, deputy speaker, members, Clarke, agents, servants, employees or any person acting in whatever capacity from preparing, arranging, organising, conducting, partaking or participating in any manner or form in the swearing-in and/or inaugurating Mr Barrow.
He also asked the court to issue an order restraining any organ of the government, any domestic, regional or international body, group or organisation, their agents, servants, workers, employees or any person acting in whatever capacity from preparing, arranging, organising, conducting, partaking or participating in any manner or form in the swearing-in and/or inaugurating Mr Barrow.
The Gambia’s supreme court has not been properly constituted since May 2015 following the unexplained dismissal of two justices by Mr Jammeh. And it is not clear whether a single justice of the supreme court, Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle, will be able to hear Mr Jammeh’s motion.