(17 Dec 2016) Voters in the tiny West African nation of Gambia took part in an election on December 1st 2016, in a vote that is widely expected to keep the country's ruler of more than two decades in power.
The opposition has attempted to mount a unified effort against longtime President Yahya Jammeh, who was seen voting in the capital Banjul.
Jammeh has vowed not to allow protests of any kind and the country's phone and Internet services were cut hours ahead of polling stations opening on Thursday in an effort to thwart unrest.
He came to power in a coup in 1994, and then swept elections in 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011, after a 2002 constitutional amendment removed presidential term limits.
Critics, though, say those elections were not free and fair, and they accuse his regime of corruption and human rights abuses.
The African Union sent a handful of observers to this country of 1.9 million but there are no observers from the European Union or the West African regional bloc ECOWAS because the Gambian government did not grant them accreditation.
Voters are using marbles - placing them into green, silver and purple ballot drums depending on whom they are backing.
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Gambians celebrated in the streets of Banjul on December 2nd after election officials said the ruler of more than two decades would concede defeat in a startling turn of events for a country where the critics have long alleged votes are rigged and opponents jailed.
President Yahya Jammeh was expected to address the nation on December 2nd, although already his fate appeared all but sealed by the unprecedented crowds publicly cheering his ouster.
Jammeh finished with just 36 percent of the vote in the presidential election compared with the winner Adama Barrow with 45 percent, according to the national election commission.
Just days earlier, Jammeh had declared that no demonstrations of any kind would be permitted regardless of the vote's outcome.
News of Barrow's victory prompted thousands to take to the streets in celebration - some on foot while others rode in cars and trucks and on motorbikes - as soldiers looked on.
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The newly elected President of Gambia said on December 3rd that a "new Gambia is born" after his victory.
Adama Barrow replaces Yahya Jammeh, the country's president of 22 years, who formerly stepped down on December 2nd after conceding defeat in December 1st's vote.
His election defeat prompted thousands of people to take to the streets in an unprecedented display of disdain for his rule.
Jammeh has long been accused of heading a government that tortures opponents and silences all dissent.
Barrow has pledged to release all political prisoners.
A tiny country of 1.9 million people surrounded almost entirely by Senegal, Gambia under Jammeh became notorious for its abysmal human rights record as well as the president's erratic behaviour.
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West African leaders promised on December 17th to enforce the results of a Gambian election that was won by a little-known businessman backed by an opposition coalition but rejected by the country's longtime coup leader.
A summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ended with all leaders stating they will attend the January 19th inauguration of Gambia's new president, Adama Barrow.
They also pledged to "guarantee the safety and protection of the president-elect," who has said he fears for his life.
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