It was an extremely disorderly election campaign but in the end Donald Trump became president of the US in a relatively orderly transfer of power. However, the same cannot be said about another inauguration held a day earlier in a different part of the world. Gambian President-elect Adama Barrow was sworn in Thursday after he won 45 percent of the vote but the sitting president Yahya Jammeh has refused to step down, rejecting the results of the presidential elections he lost in early December and ignoring repeated attempts by African leaders and others urging a peaceful transition. Jammeh originally conceded, but one week later announced his total rejection of the election results, claiming electoral fraud and "serious and unacceptable" violations during the electoral process and demanding new elections. As it currently stands, Senegalese troops entered Gambian territory to resolve the standoff hours after Barrow took the oath. The 15-member UN Security Council has given them its backing, while stressing that a political solution should be attempted first. The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has demanded that Jammeh leave office. The entrance of Senegalese troops was the major decision ECOWAS announced it would be taking regarding the ongoing crisis in Gambia. It was reported that ECOWAS wanted a diplomatic solution but the use of force also now looms. A delegation of ECOWAS leaders had been to the Gambian capital Banjul to convince Jammeh to accept the results of the presidential elections. But these last-ditch efforts apparently failed. So far Jammeh has shown little sign of stepping down. Now that foreign troops are on the move, he might change his mind. West African leaders are nervous about matters deteriorating in Gambia, the smallest country in the region, as this could destabilize Senegal and impact the already unstable larger region. The instability includes confrontations with the terrorist group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin, radical groups in Mali, and terrorists in southern Algeria and Libya. The latter two countries are not ECOWAS members, but they are influential in the region. Barrow has said that the new administration intends to investigate all the crimes that were committed in the country under Jammeh's rule when it takes office, including those said to have been committed by army officers. The army is the key to a solution in Gambia because it can guarantee stability. Therefore, many observers say that ECOWAS must reach out to army officers in Gambia if a peaceful transfer of power is to take place. The army's demand is that officers must be given amnesty from prosecution in return for abandoning Jammeh. However, this would weaken the opposition before it takes over power, especially since many opposition supporters want to see those said to be responsible for two decades of extrajudicial killings, detentions, kidnappings and torture put on trial. Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 military coup and was running for his fifth term, declared a state of emergency a day before his mandate was due to end. His rejection of the results of the election has thrown the West African nation into political turmoil. The potential for military intervention and civil disturbance is high. One way out is for Gambia's National Assembly to pass a resolution allowing Jammeh another 90 days in power. This might allow the parties some breathing space until the situation is resolved. Barrow insists that the election result stands but the widespread uncertainty in Gambia is such that he was forced to hold his swearing-in ceremony in Gambia's embassy in neighboring Senegal. Barrow has been recognized internationally. Jammeh is in an unwinnable position. A country can have only one president at a time. He should step down voluntarily before he is forced to do so.
