(19 Jan 2022) Gambian President Adama Barrow was sworn in on Wednesday after being re-elected for a second term after a vote in December.
The inauguration ceremony was held in Banjul, where military processions took place in a stadium packed with supporters.
Barrow said his re-election was the product of "a call for change", adding: "indeed change has come about."
"Today, the Gambia of the past has given way to a new democratic Gambia where every citizen is equal before the law", he said during his inauguration address.
Barrow secured re-election with a comfortable margin over his opposition in the December 4 vote.
He won about 53% of the vote in the election, beating his main contender Ousainou Darboe of the United Democratic Party who received about 28% of the vote.
This was the country's first presidential election in decades that did not include former dictator Yahya Jammeh, who now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea after losing the 2016 election and refusing to accept defeat.
Barrow emerged victorious in 2016 as the candidate for an opposition coalition that tested the 22-year rule of Jammeh.
After initially agreeing to step down, Jammeh resisted, and a six-week crisis saw neighboring West African countries prepare to send in troops to stage a military intervention. Jammeh was forced into exile.
Jammeh's two-decade rule was marked by arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and summary executions that were revealed through dramatic testimony during Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission hearings that lasted for years.
Last month, the commission handed its 17-volume report to President Barrow, urging him to ensure that perpetrators of human rights violations are prosecuted. Barrow has vowed to fight for justice for the victims.
At the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday, Barrow said that the report was being studied carefully for "appropriate action" and that his government would work towards building consensus for the establishment of a new constitution.
"The independence of the judiciary is unquestionable and Gambians have confidence in our judicial system. This is what the people fought for and this is what they have chosen to sustain", Barrow said.
Presidents from neighboring West African countries, such as Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, also attended the ceremony.
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