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Edrissa Sanyang and Sanna Camara

The Gambia after Elections: Implications for Governance and Security in West Africa Edrissa Sanyang and Sanna Camara

The Gambia after Elections: Implications for Governance and Security in West Africa About the Authors CONTENTS

Edrissa SANYANG Edrissa S. Sanyang is a Gambian politician. Like many other Gambian citizens opposed to Jammeh, he had to flee the country in 1996 following the government takeover by the Jammeh Executive Summary 4 administration and lived ever since in the USA. He is a member of the government party UDP. Introduction 5 Following the positive outcome of the election process last December, he decided to move back to The Gambia to help to rebuilding the country after the departure of Jammeh. The Economy 6 Tourism 6 Sanna CAMARA Sanna Camara is a Gambian journalist living in exile since 2014. He has been a political and human The Historical Background 6 rights journalist in The Gambia since 2001. Sanna was a teaching assistant at Gambia Press Union The Confederation 6 School of Journalism; he is a member of the Pan African Bloggers League and Web Activists for Democracy (Africtivists). He is currently a freelance journalist, a contributing Writer to World Policy The Making of Jammeh 7 Journal’s African Angle; Africa editor for Democracy Watch News, and correspondent for Paris based Internet Sans Frontieres. Institutional Settings 8 Collective Security 9 Individual Freedoms 9 Arms Trafficking 9 Drugs 10 Governance 11 Term Limits 11 The Media 11 Elections 13 The Election Process 13 Electoral Procedures 13 Imprint Elections 2016 14 Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Peace and Security The Transitional Period 16 Centre of Competence Sub-Saharan Africa Point E, boulevard de l’Est, Villa n°30 The Implications of a Jammeh Victory 17 P.O. Box 15416 -Fann, Security and Governance Issues until 2020 and beyond 18 Tel.: +221 33 859 20 02 / 03, Fax: +221 33 864 49 31 Email: [email protected] References 19

©Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung 2017

“Commercial use of all media published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is not permitted without the written consent of the FES. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.” Edrissa Sanyang and Sanna Camara | The Gambia after Elections: Implications for Governance and Security in West Africa Edrissa Sanyang and Sanna Camara | The Gambia after Elections: Implications for Governance and Security in West Africa

Executive Summary team, however, refused to broker any sort of Introduction immunity deal with Jammeh. The post-electoral crisis in The Gambia follow- The Gambia used to pride itself on being ing outgoing President ’s de- These events must be regarded as a historical the Smiling Coast of Africa, playing host to The Gambia cision on December 9, 2016, to contest the milestone for both governance and security in both the African Commission on Human and presidential election results due to “evidence Africa, since this was the first time in ECOWAS- Peoples’ Rights (Nelson Mandela Building) Capital: of fraud”, has been peacefully resolved. and AU-history that the option of military and the African Center for Democracy and Population: 1.9 million power was used - with the firm backing of Human Rights Studies (Zoe Tembo building). Area : 11,000 sq km Considering the implications of Jammeh’s the international community - to enforce the The country’s other claim to fame is as a resort Currency: Dalasi refusal to step down, the UN Security Council, political will expressed in elections largely seen destination for mostly European tourists, with No. of Ethnic Groups: 9 the AU and ECOWAS took the unanimous as free and fair in an African country. The tourism as its most important source of revenue, Religions: Muslims (90%) decision to consider all their options, circumstances in this case were somewhat ahead of agriculture. But when, on July 22, Christians (5%) including military intervention, to enforce the specific of course, since ECOWAS had never 1994, a group of reckless young military officers Animists & others (5%) will of the Gambian people. By January 17, recognized Jammeh as a legitimate policital overthrew a stable, democratic government of GDP: $1.0 Billion all efforts to bring the crisis to a peaceful end leader because he gained power as a young thirty years, things started taking a turn for the GNI Per Capita: US$ 510 seemed exhausted: the National Assembly - lieutenant through a military coup. Senegal worse in The Gambia. Inflation rate: 5.00% dominated by Jammeh’s APRC Party - declared had a strong interest in resolving the security GDP growth rate: + 4.7% a state of emergency, granted a three-month issues related to the protracted “- The military junta constricted the democratic Human Development Index extension of his mandate, and imposed a Conflict”, as well as the trafficking of arms space and decimated the inherently weak (rank / 187) : 165 dusk-to-dawn curfew. On January 19, 2017, and drugs. Compared to its neighbours, The democratic institutions (the executive, the leg- Human Development President-elect was sworn in Gambia is quite small, hence the limited size islature and the judiciary; the press, the political Index (scale 0 to1): 0.439 at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, of the army with its five thousand men. Then parties and civil society organizations) by means in the presence of members of the diplomatic there are roughly one thousand presidential of decrees and draconian laws. The human Source: African Development Bank (2015) corps in Dakar, Mr. Mahamed Boun Abdallah, guardsmen who are handpicked for their rights- and rule-of-law implications have been the Senegalese Prime Minister, and Mr. John political and tribal loyalties and who are better formidable, with a growing number of deten- Dramani Mahama, the Chairman of the trained and equipped than the rest. tions without trial, abductions, kidnappings, mandingo have intermarried and lived peace- ECOWAS commission. At the same time, false imprisonments, extra-judicial killings, ex- fully together, with each of them following ECOMOG coalition forces comprised of The success of rebuilding The Gambia will ecutions, and unbridled corruption. On top of their unique cultural traditions. The majority military personnel from Senegal, Mali, , depend as much on the reconciliation process that, policies with a profoundly stifling effect on of the population are practicing Sufi-Muslims and , entered Gambian territory. Last- and the way it is organized, as on whether academic freedom and freedom of expression who live in peaceful co-existence with the other minute mediation efforts by the presidents of the Gambian people will indeed be ready were implemented. The basic social services that religions. Mauritania and Guinea Conakry, and the head to accept that for the sake of peace it was governments usually provide were either non- of the UN West Africa office, Muhammad apparently necessary to provide the repre- existent or in a very poor state. The private sec- The main source of livelihood is subsistence Ibn Chambas, finally achieved the desired sentatives of the ruling party with far-reaching tor was literally destroyed, and no longer able agriculture – crop cultivation, animal husbandry, outcome. Jammeh agreed to go into exile in warranties. A proper start for the new govern- to drive the national economic growth. Today, and an under-exploited fishing sector. Over the the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, a country ment will be hampered by the fact that the the country is among the poorest in the world. years, agriculture has been losing ground to whose authoritarian government has one state coffers are apparently completely empty. urban dwelling where people engage in cot- of the worst human rights records in the ECOMOG is committed to staying on in The On its northern, southern and eastern side, the tage industries and/or other handicrafts, while world. The agreement provided Jammeh Gambia for a period of six months to ensure a country borders on the Republic of Senegal, the young and politically active are compelled and his supporters with a “package deal” smooth transition. while in the West, it has a 48-kilometer-long by economic or political realities to migrate to with a wide range of personal guarantees opening onto the Atlantic Ocean. Throughout Europe/America. ensuring his dignity, security, personal safety, recent history, Gambia’s different ethnic groups and other rights. President Barrow and his mainly composed of 36% joola and 45%

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The Economy The SeneGambia Confederation The making of Jammeh plotting a coup against the council and impris- oned for nine years. To be able to contest elec- When Jammeh seized power in 1994, the In November 1981, Senegal and the Gambia While President Jawara was on vacation in tions in 1996, Jammeh transformed himself Gambian economy was one of the fastest formed a nominal Confederation called in 1981, a coup attempt by a socialist- into a civilian politician and started a political growing economies in the sub-region, and its ‘Senegambia’ that lasted until 1989. The terms driven rebellion, led by Gambian dissident party named the ‘Alliance for Patriotic Reorien- per capita GDP was ranked third (behind Ivory of the agreement required Senegal and The Kukoie Samba Sagnia, turned bloody. Thanks tation and Construction’ (APRC). Coast and Cape Verde) in the 16-member Gambia to take the following steps toward to intervention by the Senegalese military the ECOWAS regional grouping. Today, The Gambia union: integrate the military and security rebels’ grip on power in Banjul was crushed Early efforts by moderate factions to counter is ranked 16th – at the bottom of the table. forces; form an economic and monetary union; after only 24 hours, but it came at a huge loss the military council’s consolidation of power coordinate foreign policies and communications, of life, not only to both parties, but also to the failed, but when Jammeh reneged on his and establish confederal institutions. Despite civilian population. Until then, the country had promises to fellow soldiers, there was an Tourism the merger, each country would maintain its no proper army, but just a Field Force unit that attempt to overthrow him just four months independence, but The Gambia had growing was ill equipped to carry out the functions of after his own coup. Most of the officers The Gambia prides itself on being one of the concerns over its autonomy, which led to the an army. involved in the November 1994 counter-coup top tourism destinations in Africa. The contri- dissolution of the confederation. were assassinated and buried in unmarked bution of tourism to GDP grew from 12% in As a young Lieutenant in 1994, Yahya Jammeh graves at various barracks around the country. 1994 to 22% in 2012. However, the impact of joined a branch of the security services known global economic dynamics, and health warn- as the Gendarmerie, a French-styled paramili- During the transition, local government and ings such as the Ebola crisis in 2014, as well tary force trained in Senegal under a confed- traditional institutions were kept under strict as travel advisories, frequent human rights eral agreement drawn up between the two control. The military committed many atrocities, violations, etc., have led to a drop in the GDP countries soon after the 1981 putsch. Upon such as assassinations and the imprisonment growth rate to just 0.9% in 2014. the amalgamation of the armed forces and and torture of political opponents. In May the police in the early 90s, Jammeh rose to the 1995, Finance Minister Ousman Koro Ceesay rank of commissioned officer. In early 1994, as was found dead in his burnt-out official car. The Historical Background head of the Military Police, he benefitted from Just prior to this incident, he had made a final US military leadership training, and in July of journey accompanying the president to the air- The Gambia is situated on the west coast of the same year, he, together with four others, port. No culprits were ever brought to book. Africa as one out of four former British West- formed the military group that staged the take- African colonies - along with Sierra Leone, over of Gambia’s establishment after 30 years In April 2000, 14 students were gunned down and Nigeria. The Gambia became a British of unbroken rule. Next, he set up the Armed during a mass protest demanding justice for protectorate in 1820 and a colony in 1886, Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC). The student victims of killings and rape. Soldiers after the Berlin Conference. After gaining inde- morning edition of The Daily Observer after the found to have committed these crimes were pendence on February 18, 1965, it acquired its July 1994 coup headlined: “We will not intro- indemnified by the state. An amnesty clause own head of government, with the Queen of duce Dictatorship in this Country”. embedded in the 1997 constitution for previ- England remaining as head of state. In 1970, ous atrocities committed during the transition, the it became a republic, and up until 1994, it Upon coming to power in 1994, Jammeh ruled did nothing to get rid of the impression that was one of the few countries in the sub-region by decree, suspending the constitution and all the government was either unwilling [to dis- that enjoyed a stable form of democracy, free existing political parties. The council wanted a cipline the culprits], or eager to instill fear into of civil strife. four-year transition period, but the people de- the minds of the people. manded the transition be limited to two years, through a national consultative council. Two of the five-member military council opposed to Jammeh’s political agenda were accused of

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Institutional Settings Another policy Jammeh introduced saw his Collective Security Arms Trafficking party members losing their assembly seats once When Jammeh was planning to hold elections he expelled them from the party. Assembly Individual freedoms One of the sanctions in the 2004 UN Security in 1996, he first transformed himself into a members and councilors were nominated by Council resolution 1532 targets New Millen- civilian head of state by resigning from the the party excutive and approved by Jammeh, According to the International Organisation nium Airlines in The Gambia for its purported army, together with the two other members of instead of being selected by the communities for Migration (IOM), The Gambia is one of role in gun running and the smuggling of blood his military council. Upon winning the elections, and constituencies they represented – they the top three exporters of migrants to Europe, diamonds inside Charles Taylor’s RUF network he designated his two colleagues to oversee automatically lost their parliamentary seats together with Nigeria and Eritrea, two other in Sierra Leone. local governance and the military institutions, notwithstanding their electoral mandates. sub-Saharan African countries in conflict situ- while appointing a female vice president. ations. Each year, thousands of young people While consolidating the power base of his Having set aside an existing agreement be- leave the country in search of better economic rogue government, Jammeh also engaged in As local government minister, Rtd. Captain tween the Commonwealth and its member and social conditions outside The Gambia, par- international arms trafficking. One of his many Yankuba Touray oversaw the dismantling of the governments that made provision for judges to ticularly in Europe. The majority of those who business associates who gave him access to system of traditional tribal chiefs, whose role it be hired from member states under a technical leave are not victims of persecution, but are weapons from unauthorized markets was the was to uphold the socio-cultural values of the assistance program, Jammeh began hiring driven away by the stifling environment with notorious Tajik arms dealer Victor Booth, who various population groups within the country. his own judges and prosecutors, mainly from its lack of freedom and economic opportuni- was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited When appointing district chiefs, the president, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, etc., to serve in ties, which means they are not secure at home. to the US in 2010. instead of letting the different communities the Gambian judiciary. As had happened in the elect them from their midst, would exercise military, the learned Gambian judges, magis- The Italian government claims that 8,454 mi- In October 2010, 13 shipping containers carry- his personal authority, basing his choices on trates and prosecutors delivering independent grants from The Gambia arrived in Italy in 2015, ing Iranian weapons and heading to The Gambia personal loyalties. This has helped centralize decisions on cases were all relieved of their ranking The Gambia in fifth place for migrant were impounded by Nigerian port authorities powers in the hands of the executive. duties and replaced with foreign professionals. arrivals in Italy after Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, in Lagos. The manifests showed that the ship- These foreign members of the judiciary were and Sudan. The number of Gambians living in ment came from Iran, and was addressed to Jammeh purged the army, by removing talented tasked with presiding over political cases, but the diaspora is estimated at 135,000, or seven Kanilai Family Farms, the president’s personal and influential officers based on their ethnic they lacked any consideration for justice or for percent of the population. A large proportion agricultural enterprise. This was not the state background and loyalties, and replacing them Gambian sensibilities and values. When making of them did not want to return, due to the con- purchasing weapons, and there was certainly with his own tribesmen. Rtd. Captain Edward their decisions, they mainly favoured Jammeh. ditions created by 20 years of Jammeh’s rule. no license from the Gambian government. In Singhateh, the first defense minister under his testimony to the court in Lagos, an Iranian the AFPRC Council, continued to oversee this In June 2016, Amnesty International published diplomat confessed that several other ship- purging process. The original commands and a report entitled “Dangerous to Dissent” that ments had already been delivered to Banjul. various units were reconfigured to neutralize decries the continuous, brutal clampdown on all traditional influences within the army and dissent in the country at the hands of Jammeh’s When Senegalese troops clash with the Move- replaced with new ones. government. The organization urged ECOWAS ment of Democratic Forces of Casamance to take action to ensure that its own rules were (MFDC) in Africa’s oldest internal conflict that At the parliamentary level, unlike during the respected and fully observed. It also urged dates back to 1982, the arms and ammunition first republic, when ministers were picked from ECOWAS to launch a Commission of Inquiry recovered can often be traced to the arms ship- a group of elected representatives in parlia- into the repression of opposition protests in ments that came from Iran through Banjul. And ment, the second republican constitution intro- Banjul last April that resulted in the deaths and when the Polish arms trafficker Konrad Dadak duced a direct appointment method for con- torture of opposition activists in state custody, was apprehended in Spain In June 2016, he stituting cabinet. Jammeh alone would choose as well as the imprisonment of up to 30 activists told authorities that he was using the Gambian his cabinet ministers and fire them at will. and the entire executive of the UDP, the main president’s private jet to conduct his business. opposition party.

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Drugs Governance trasts sharply with the days under Jammeh. During the first republic, the editor of The The first time West African authorities dealt Term limits Torch newspaper for example reported on the with drug trafficking was when they impound- corrupt practices of senior members, and even ed an international consignment in Mauritania The 1997 Constitution of The Gambia clearly went to court to give evidence against a sitting during the early days of the AFPRC adminis- defines the three separate and independent vice president in the mid-1980s. tration. A container of illicit hard drugs, en arms of government, giving the press an over- route from South America and disguised as a sight function as the fourth. The draft of this However, the ruling People’s Progressive Party fertilizer shipment addressed to the Ministry of constitution, that was approved through a ref- maintained its grip on power for 30 years, Agriculture and government of The Gambia, erendum in 1996, limits the president to two winning consecutive elections with question- was seized by Interpol in 1995. five-year terms in office. However, this draft able transparency and fairness. The opposition constitution was doctored in the dead of night parties were unable to bring about a change Since then, there have been numerous to suspend the two-term limit for the presi- of government through the ballot box, and allegations of Jammeh’s involvement in the illicit dency, and, since Jammeh was just a little over the people grew weary of a government that drugs trade. According to WikiLeaks, a landing 30 years old at the time, the minimum age was refusing to leave. Hence Yahya Jammeh’s fee of $3 million is paid to Jammeh for every haul requirement of forty that applied to anyone coup in 1994 had received popular approval that arrives from South America. The discovery seeking office. from people hoping for change and a new in June 2010 by the Gambian anti-narcotics beginning. In reality, however, Jammeh con- agency of 2 tons of cocaine at an underground After the presidential elections of 2001, the solidated his power-base, and in the worst way warehouse on an island off the coast of Banjul constitution was again amended, this time imaginable, he prevented a peaceful, demo- must count as further proof of these allegations. to omit a second round of voting, should the cratic change of government for 22 years. The members of the drug-ring arrested in electoral candidate fail to win a 50+1 percent connection with this discovery were mainly majority. In the same vein, the upper age limit During this period, the independent media South Americans and other foreign nationals. for seeking office was pegged to 65 years. were deliberately targeted and weakened A fish processing- and exporting-company was through calculated attacks, assassinations, found to be associated with exporting the drugs Furthermore, when in May 2015, ECOWAS and kidnappings. The community of exiled to Europe. Most of those that were imprisoned, made the groundbreaking decision to insti- professionals was growing. After journalist were later released by Jammeh. tutionalize term limits as a way of promoting was shot and killed, no one stability and the peaceful transfer of power, was brought to justice. Private media premises Jammeh also maintained close connections The Gambia and Togo were the only two of (e.g. Radio 1 FM at Ebrima Sillah’s house) were with General Jose Americo Bubo NA Chuto the sixteen member states that refused to sign attacked by arsonists and burnt down by per- from Guinea-Bissau, who has now been appre- the agreement. petrators swearing allegiance to the president. hended through a sting operation by the US In 2006, Ebrima Chief Manneh disappeared DEA off the coast of Bissau. Prior to this, whilst and has not been found since being arrested the regional trafficking was ongoing between The Media by plain clothes security men, an incident Banjul, Bissau, and Dakar, General NA Chuto which coincided with the sudden closure of in- enjoyed Jammeh’s personal protection and For the Gambian people, the independent dependent media outlets like Citizen FM, Sud was given sanctuary in Banjul for many years. media were their last bastion of defense FM and The Independent newspaper that has against tyranny and oppression. had a presence in The Gambia since 2001.

Post-independence, the media enjoyed rela- When Jammeh started orchestrating plans to tive freedom under the rule of law, with no seek a fifth term in office, Gambian civil society, reports of physical attacks or killings - this con- due to the total loss of the independent media

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as a critical voice, had to rely on the more than Elections polls”, the international community chose not one hundred Gambian journalists living in to observe both the Presidential and National exile to fill that crucial role. Today, the online The Election Process Assembly Elections. Thus, the ECOWAS Com- and social media have taken on the role of mission informed President Jammeh of The the independent media, and they definitely Since becoming a republic and acquiring a Gambia about its decision not to dispatch an contributed to the drive for change in the constitution in 1970, the country has been ECOWAS observer mission to the presiden- December 1st elections. going to the polls every five years to choose its tial election that took place in the country on President and members of Parliament. Initially, November 24, 2011. In reaction to high volumes of activity during the local government ministry was in charge the run-up to the election, WhatsApp was of elections, but this changed in 1996, when, Jammeh and the APRC dominated Gambian blocked in The Gambia. After users were for the first time, the new constitution made politics through intimidation, repression and advised to install virtual private networks (VPN) provision for elections to be conducted by an politicized security forces that were oppressing to circumvent the blockade, the government independent electoral body that extended the the opposition parties. Although in mid-2015, enforced a VPN blockade as well. Unable to franchise to all Gambian nationals of eighteen Jammeh pardoned more than 300 prisoners block WhatsApp completely, the government and older, both in- and outside the country. (security-, political-, and common criminals), soon instituted an entire internet shutdown Now, twenty years later, Gambians residing some key political opponents remained before voters went to the polls. Calls into and outside the country did not enjoy the right to incarcerated, including the UDP’s national out of the country have also been disabled vote. In the knowledge that the majority of treasurer and two other UDP members. The through the international telecommunications the diaspora were opposed to him, Jammeh three were convicted of sedition in 2013 and gateway. reckoned that this policy would secure him an have allegedly been tortured in custody. easy victory at the polls. In June 2016, political activists, human rights From 1994 to 2001, the Jammeh administration groups, and civil society from Senegal and The was not recognized by the US government, Gambia met with political leaders in Dakar to due to its questionable democratic record. The discuss President Jammeh’s governance issues, and Gambia’s main opposition as well as his refusal to implement electoral parties, as well as the international observers reforms and the continuous clampdown did not certify the 1996 elections as free and on opposition protests. The outcome was fair. In 2001, however, the biggest opposition a further call for electoral reforms and the party (UDP) conceded defeat to Jammeh in a cessation of clampdowns. telephone call from the leader of the party, clearing the way for the US to recognize the elections as reflecting the will of the people. Electoral Procedures

Even though demands for electoral reforms The Gambia still uses to a voting system that have been ignored by Jammeh throughout works with marbles and ballot drums that the electoral cycles since 2001, the opposition have the various party colors and candidates’ parties have continued to contest each one of portraits of attached to them. The system is a them, including 2011 and 2016. Conflicted by legacy from the colonial era and has been used the process leading up to the 2011 elections, throughout the first republic as well as under which according to an ECOWAS press release Jammeh’s second republic. was “deemed not to have been conducive to the conduct of free, fair and transparent

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Many analysts argue that the size of the ballot compelled the electorate to vote for Jammeh. box. The development partners were also Adama Barrow, the flag-bearer of the UDP, the drums and the marbles make the system prone involved, in an advisory capacity, by offering biggest opposition party, emerged victorious to fraudulent activities, such as switching Through the online crowd-funding tool Go- their assistance and support in setting up the over the socialist party’s , Hamat and stuffing while they are transported from FundMe, it took the diaspora just 24 days to coalition and keeping it going for the duration Bah from the NRP and Dr Bojang from the polling stations to counting centers. Under raise over $50,000 in support of the opposition of the 2016 elections. NCP. Together, they presented their candidate Jammeh, on completion of the vote, election campaign. The pre-election ECOWAS assess- to the electorate and mounted a 2-week officials and the security personnel attached to ment mission stressed the need to raise funds Two different strategies were advanced for campaign for change. each polling station would escort the drums to match the “vast resource imbalance” be- the coalition during the run-up to the 2016 to the counting centers, which were usually tween the incumbent and the collective opposi- election cycle: one was to boycott the elec- The final official results showed Barrow government institutions such as governors’ tion, an issue that was a key factor in the 2011 tions if there were no meaningful reforms, winning a 43.3% plurality, achieving a 3.7% offices and controlled areas throughout the presidential election (abuse of incumbency). and the other was to contest them, whatever margin of victory over Jammeh’s 39.6% – with country. the conditions, and following up the process a third candidate, Mamma Kandeh, receiving The State has always refused to provide with civil disobedience, since it was deemed 17.1% of the votes. After the election, 19 Before the count, all the ballot drums would security for the opposition candidates during to be rigged anyway. Jammeh was caught in a opposition prisoners were released, including be collected. Unlike the agents of the ruling political campaigns. Rather, the opposition conundrum, since he didn’t know if the oppo- , the leader of Barrow’s party, the opposition polling agents usually had to hire their own security guards for their sition would boycott or contest the election. United Democratic Party (UDP). did not have the resources to provide escorts personal protection, while supporters relied His strategy was to fund a candidate to legiti- for the ballot drums, which means that more on their numerical strength to resist and defy mize the election process, should the opposi- Since the victory on December 1st, president- often than not, it was the APRC’s agents and intimidation from the ruling party and elements tion choose to boycott. Instead of meeting the elect Adama Barrow and his team have not IEC staff members who ended up as escorts. of the security services. demands of the opposition parties for electoral been offered any state protection. Rather, he A similar situation used to occur at counting law reforms which would level the playing has to rely on private security guards hired centers, either due to the opposition party’s Human rights groups and election observer field, Jammeh implemented his own reforms, from neighboring Senegal, who, according lack of funds or because intimidation prevent- missions have documented instances of in- designed to his advantage. He raised the to Gambian law, cannot even be armed to be ed them from covering all the counting centers timidation by members of the military, the deposit for presidential candidates from GMD able to provide maximum security. As Barrow across the country. police, and the intelligence services through- 10,000 to GMD 1 million, but finally, after in- moves around and gets on with the affairs out the entire electoral process, from the reg- ternational condemnation, reduced it to GMD of state, he is constantly surrounded by large During the counting, the votes are tallied in istration of voter rolls, to the voting itself, and 500,000. He also introduced on-the-spot vote crowds of supporters. sieved counting trays of 250 and 500 votes per the counting of ballots. The security services counting, and replaced an incumbent IEC tray. They are then approved by each one of the used to campaign openly by wearing ruling chairman whose term of service exceeded the Since Jammeh’s refusal to accept the results represented party agents, before the figures party T-shirts and by displaying their loyalty constitutional requirements. and step down, heavily armed soldiers have are sent to the IEC chairman who announces through slogans like “We will die for you!” – been deployed all around town, and there are the results through the state media. referring to President Jammeh. Finally, the strategy to contest the elections sandbags piled high everywhere, fortifying gained the upper hand, since boycotting would strategic locations. The Gambia Opposition For Electoral Reform not have prevented Jammeh from holding elec- Election 2016 (GOFER) was a coalition of seven opposition tions with his sponsored candidate. The choice parties that came together to demand of a single candidate for the collective opposi- The diaspora became a crucial player in the electoral law reforms to even out the electoral tion was made through a selection process at a election process, even though they continued landscape in favor of free and fair elections convention in the presence of all aspirants from being denied the right to vote. Many of them in The Gambia in 2016. In 2011, individuals the composite political parties of the coalition. were very active on social media long before the and civil society groups in the diaspora started Since the chosen candidate was to represent all election campaign began, and their remittanc- to engage with the opposition parties in The of the opposition parties, it was decided that he es to family members in the country were used Gambia for the purpose of drafting a coalition should run on an independent ticket. as leverage to counter the fear element that strategy to effect change through the ballot

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The Transitional Period and all appointments, decisions and other mat- The implications of a Jammeh tional Criminal Court, in October 2016, he ters must be based on consultation between Victory made a unilateral declaration to withdraw The On October 14, 2016, the opposition parties the coalition members. Gambia from the Rome Statute. However, due agreed to forge a coalition to challenge President When, in 2013, Jammeh decided to leave the to poor calculations, he did not realize that the Yahya Jammeh’s bid for a fifth term in office. The timeframe of three, instead of five years is Commonwealth, dismissing it as a “neo-colonial withdrawal would only take effect one year In a statement to the media, the opposition meant to shorten the transition period and allow institution”, he seemed bent on pushing The after a state submits its formal intention. parties declared that they had signed a joint earlier elections in which candidates from all Gambia further and further into isolation. In May agreement to select a coalition candidate at a parties will separately seek fresh mandates from 2014, side-talks within the ruling APRC camp convention that was to take place on October the population to serve a full five-year term. about the possibility of Jammeh being crowned 30th. The overriding function of the transition king and styling himself King of the “ Kingdom of government was to re-establish the democratic Following the Dec 1st 2016 elections that saw Gambia” reached the National Assembly, where structures and institutions that Jammeh had Adama Barrow emerging victorious, the in- during an adjournment debate, a member from so decimated to smithereens. To reach this cumbent Jammeh initially conceded defeat Banjul called for Jammeh to be crowned king. goal, it was of cardinal importance to bring only to renounce that concession a week later. The debate was supported by APRC surrogates the 1997 draft constitution back to life in its within the assembly and provided the main original form, i.e. before it was doctored by news headlines for the next day. Jammeh and his junta. The overall objective of the transitional government would be to During the week-long 20th anniversary cel- implement constitutional reforms, restructure ebrations, Jammeh released new banknotes the institutions of governance (including the bearing his portrait, and conferred the title electoral system, the judiciary, the media, the “Babili Mansa” on himself (a pre-eminent title legislative, the state and parastatals), without in Mandinka, meaning ‘the king who builds forgetting about security policy reforms. bridges’, as in acquiring powers that span across seas). The coalition government pledges to proactive- ly pursue economic transformation programs Another implication of a Jammeh victory aimed at injecting fiscal discipline and boosting would have been his subtle plan to establish a investor confidence. It will further implement Jola hegemony across the 3Bs (Banjul-Bignona- a plan to turn the youth into a productive seg- Bissau), the only areas in the continent of Africa ment of the population that - instead of resort- where the Jola tribe can be found. Jammeh ing to backway migration to Europe - plays an has had a strong and influential hand in both active role in the nation’s development. The the Casamance and the Bissau crises, where new government also seeks to integrate the he portrays himself as a God-sent leader with Gambian diaspora, by creating investment in- the capability to “liberate members of the Jola centives in all sectors of the economy, and by tribe” from their perceived suffering in the 3Bs. providing smooth access to public- and private sector employment. Thirdly, the proclamation of The Gambia as an Islamic state would have been followed up with All these objectives will be pursued within the the establishment of Sharia as the national law framework of a three-year national transitional of The Gambia in place of the constitution. program before fresh elections will be organ- ized. Cabinet positions will be divided among As if he knew trouble was brewing, since he the political parties that make up the coalition, may face formal prosecution by the Interna-

16 17 Edrissa Sanyang and Sanna Camara | The Gambia after Elections: Implications for Governance and Security in West Africa Edrissa Sanyang and Sanna Camara | The Gambia after Elections: Implications for Governance and Security in West Africa

Security and governance issues These cannot be properly understood, how- References until 2020 and beyond ever, unless the impact of the flagrant stoking of minority dominance and its effect on the 1. Note to Correspondents - Joint The coalition has announced plans to create a social fabric of Gambian cultural settings Declaration on the Political Situation new republican army as well as an alternative has first been appreciated. There were the in The Gambia – January 21, 2017 security apparatus trained to respect and systematic allocations of administrative posi- https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/ protect the population, in the same spirit in tions and opportunities in favor of one ethnic note-correspondents/2017-01-21/ which the rest of the institutions will adopt the group against the rest. The pitting of interests note-correspondents-joint-declaration- new dispensation and its principles of respect to superimpose the cultural preferences of political-situation - page 4 for basic human rights and liberties, the rule one ethnic group over another, for the sole of law, democracy, and good governance. purpose of creating divisions that are meant 2. African Development Bank - page 5 to sustain the dictatorship against the uni- The coalition is committed to this ideal, which fied opposition to quell his stranglehold on 3. « Dear Mr. Yahya Jammeh, please leave means they will ensure the security forces re- power. The brutal nature of Jammeh’s rule peacefully » http://sidisanneh.blogspot. ceive the necessary orientation to help them traumatized the population to an extent that sn/ - page 5 understand that this is a new dispensation. can hardly be imagined in the sociocultural “A government that comes through democ- context of the Gambia. We have no alterna- 4. www.knoema.com - page 5 racy will earn the respect of governments all tive but to see Jammeh’s misdeeds as delib- over the world. The Gambia is a small country erate machinations and to invoke forgiveness and we are not at war with our neighbors…it and reasonable sanctions where necessary. means the armed forces will now have to go through training opportunities to develop their The assumption of office of the next admin- capacities to better serve the civilian popula- istration after the transition in 2020 should tion and peacekeeping missions around the consolidate these reform programs, initiated world,” a spokesperson said. by the transition government, and further enhance the security considerations for all The members of the police, the army, and bilateral and multilateral stakes in the region. the security apparatus will receive training to enable a large number of them to leave the armed forces, to be educated to earn better incomes and to live prosperous lives as civil- ians, loyal to the new government.

A key component of the transition program and its smooth implementation is a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, similar in scope and terms of reference to the one constituted in post-Apartheid South Africa. To mitigate the de- liberate fermentation of ethnic schisms by Jam- meh during the past two decades, the Gambian population must be orientated to understand, reasonably sanction, and forgive the excesses of the 22 years of Jammeh’s dictatorship.

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FES Peace and Security Series No. 20

About the FES Africa Peace and Security Series As a political foundation committed to the values of The lack of security is one of the key impediments social democracy, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) aims to development and democracy in Africa. The at strengthening the interface between democracy existence of protracted violent conflicts as well as and security policy. FES therefore facilitates political a lack of accountability of the security sector in dialogue on security threats and their national, many countries are challenging cooperation in the regional and continental responses.The FES Africa field of security policy. The emerging African Peace Peace and Security Series aims to contribute to and Security Architecture provides the institutional this dialogue by making relevant analysis widely framework to promote peace and security. accessible. The series is being published by the FES Africa Security Policy Network.

About this study With special focus on the political-security environ- gradually turned into a power-hungry dictator. All ment in their country, Edrissa Sanyang and Sanna his election wins were rigged, and he ruled The Camara have discussed every sector of Gambian Gambia with a rod of iron. Incidents of arbitrary society in this study. This is an introspective analysis imprisonment, human rights violations, attacks on by two major actors with deep concerns about the , kidnappings, torture and Gambia’s current state. They are both profoundly assassinations were the order of the day, right from aware of the fact that the 2016 presidential the start of his assumption of power. This state of elections carried so many expectations, so many affairs made it imperative, not only to highlight hopes on the part of the Gambian people. The the atrocities and abuses in this study, but also the background to this is President Yahya Jammeh, need for a democratic and transparent changeover. who after gaining power through a coup d’Etat