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| The Gambia bans international calls and internet as voters go to polls | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The internet, international phone calls and demonstrations have been banned in the Gambia as voters go to the polls for an election that poses the first real threat to President Yahya Jammeh after more than two decades in power. | The internet, international phone calls and demonstrations have been banned in the Gambia as voters go to the polls for an election that poses the first real threat to President Yahya Jammeh after more than two decades in power. |
| The election involves voters taking a marble and placing it in a drum painted the colour of their chosen candidate. Nearly 900,000 people are eligible to vote at 1,400 polling stations across the small west African nation. | The election involves voters taking a marble and placing it in a drum painted the colour of their chosen candidate. Nearly 900,000 people are eligible to vote at 1,400 polling stations across the small west African nation. |
| Jammeh, who won the last election with nearly three-quarters of votes, says another win is all but assured with divine intervention. | Jammeh, who won the last election with nearly three-quarters of votes, says another win is all but assured with divine intervention. |
| But he is facing unprecedented opposition after a coalition of parties agreed to unite behind a single opposition candidate. Businessman Adama Barrow has fired up voters in the last two weeks, the only period allowed for campaigning before the poll. | But he is facing unprecedented opposition after a coalition of parties agreed to unite behind a single opposition candidate. Businessman Adama Barrow has fired up voters in the last two weeks, the only period allowed for campaigning before the poll. |
| The Gambia is dependent on a mix of tourism and mostly subsistence agriculture, with nearly half the population below the poverty line. Thousands of young people risk the dangerous sea journey to Europe each year, with the goalkeeper of the national women’s team the most recent casualty. | The Gambia is dependent on a mix of tourism and mostly subsistence agriculture, with nearly half the population below the poverty line. Thousands of young people risk the dangerous sea journey to Europe each year, with the goalkeeper of the national women’s team the most recent casualty. |
| Barrow has promised to revive the economy, end human rights abuses and even step down three years into an official five-year term, to boost democracy. | Barrow has promised to revive the economy, end human rights abuses and even step down three years into an official five-year term, to boost democracy. |
| The country’s youth, desperate for jobs, largely literate and armed with information from apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook, have been galvanised by the possibility of change and Barrow’s message. | The country’s youth, desperate for jobs, largely literate and armed with information from apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook, have been galvanised by the possibility of change and Barrow’s message. |
| The internet and phone shutdown, which began the evening before the vote, may have been aimed at suppressing those networks. | The internet and phone shutdown, which began the evening before the vote, may have been aimed at suppressing those networks. |
| Jammeh came to power in a coup in 1994 and has won every election since after changing the constitution to remove term limits. He has skilfully exploited tribal and other divides among multiple opposition parties in past elections, and this is the first time he will face a single main challenger | Jammeh came to power in a coup in 1994 and has won every election since after changing the constitution to remove term limits. He has skilfully exploited tribal and other divides among multiple opposition parties in past elections, and this is the first time he will face a single main challenger |
| He still has some real support and the green flags of his party flutter on many houses along the main road through the small west African country, but it is hard to gauge how much because of his autocratic rule. | He still has some real support and the green flags of his party flutter on many houses along the main road through the small west African country, but it is hard to gauge how much because of his autocratic rule. |
| Journalists and political opponents are regularly detained, tortured and killed, most recently after protests this spring calling for reforms. | Journalists and political opponents are regularly detained, tortured and killed, most recently after protests this spring calling for reforms. |
| Two main opposition party members died in detention, and fifteen others have been jailed for three years, but opposition leader Omar Amadou Jallow, with the People’s Progressive party, says despite that clampdown this is the year for change. | Two main opposition party members died in detention, and fifteen others have been jailed for three years, but opposition leader Omar Amadou Jallow, with the People’s Progressive party, says despite that clampdown this is the year for change. |
| “For 22 years we have realised that Gambia has been turned into a prison; the arrests, the tensions, the torture and many of our people have gone into exile,” he told the Associated Press. “We are going to give people their freedoms, their liberties. That is more important than anything else.” | “For 22 years we have realised that Gambia has been turned into a prison; the arrests, the tensions, the torture and many of our people have gone into exile,” he told the Associated Press. “We are going to give people their freedoms, their liberties. That is more important than anything else.” |
| Jammeh has made no secret of his desire to hold onto power, vowing to govern “for a billion years if Allah decrees it”, declaring himself “proud to be a dictator” and threatening to bury the “evil vermins called opposition … nine feet deep”. | Jammeh has made no secret of his desire to hold onto power, vowing to govern “for a billion years if Allah decrees it”, declaring himself “proud to be a dictator” and threatening to bury the “evil vermins called opposition … nine feet deep”. |
| A month ago, Jammeh announced the country would leave the international criminal court, following South Africa and Burundi out of an institution that African leaders say is racist. He pulled the Gambia out of the Commonwealth in 2013, and last year he declared the country an Islamic republic. | A month ago, Jammeh announced the country would leave the international criminal court, following South Africa and Burundi out of an institution that African leaders say is racist. He pulled the Gambia out of the Commonwealth in 2013, and last year he declared the country an Islamic republic. |
| He has barred demonstrations already “because those are the loopholes that are used to destabilise African governments”, he said. But there are fears of violence if Barrow loses the election and opposition supporters feel results are rigged. | He has barred demonstrations already “because those are the loopholes that are used to destabilise African governments”, he said. But there are fears of violence if Barrow loses the election and opposition supporters feel results are rigged. |
| “Things are getting out of hand. The government has been failing for 10 years, but this year, things are getting worse,” opposition supporter Alagie Blajo, 27, said on the eve of the vote. | “Things are getting out of hand. The government has been failing for 10 years, but this year, things are getting worse,” opposition supporter Alagie Blajo, 27, said on the eve of the vote. |
| “We’ll send him out without violence, but if necessary, we will be ready to die. There’s no way he can win this election.” | “We’ll send him out without violence, but if necessary, we will be ready to die. There’s no way he can win this election.” |
| Human rights activists have also raised fears that if Jammeh wins again, reprisals will come later, when the world is not watching. There are a few African Union observers at the election, but none from the European Union or the West African regional bloc Ecowas. | Human rights activists have also raised fears that if Jammeh wins again, reprisals will come later, when the world is not watching. There are a few African Union observers at the election, but none from the European Union or the West African regional bloc Ecowas. |