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| Gambia's Jammeh loses to Adama Barrow in shock election result | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia's authoritarian president of 22 years, has suffered a surprise defeat in the country's general election. | Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia's authoritarian president of 22 years, has suffered a surprise defeat in the country's general election. |
| He will be replaced by a property developer, Adama Barrow, who won more than 45% of the vote. | He will be replaced by a property developer, Adama Barrow, who won more than 45% of the vote. |
| Mr Jammeh, who came to power in a coup in 1994, has conceded, said electoral commission chief Alieu Momar Njie. | Mr Jammeh, who came to power in a coup in 1994, has conceded, said electoral commission chief Alieu Momar Njie. |
| Before announcing the final result, Mr Njie appealed for calm as the country entered unchartered waters. | Before announcing the final result, Mr Njie appealed for calm as the country entered unchartered waters. |
| The Gambia has not had a smooth transfer of power since independence in 1965. | The Gambia has not had a smooth transfer of power since independence in 1965. |
| Mr Barrow won 263,515 votes (45.5%) in Thursday's election, while President Jammeh took 212,099 (36.7%), according to the electoral commission. | Mr Barrow won 263,515 votes (45.5%) in Thursday's election, while President Jammeh took 212,099 (36.7%), according to the electoral commission. |
| Mr Barrow, who runs his own property company, reportedly used to work as a security guard at an Argos catalogue store on London's Holloway Road. | |
| On the electoral campaign, he promised to revive the country's economy, which has forced thousands of Gambians to make the perilous journey to Europe. | On the electoral campaign, he promised to revive the country's economy, which has forced thousands of Gambians to make the perilous journey to Europe. |
| 'The marbles have spoken' - by Alastair Leithead, BBC Africa correspondent | 'The marbles have spoken' - by Alastair Leithead, BBC Africa correspondent |
| President Jammeh's defeat comes as a huge surprise. Despite a surge of support for an opposition broadly united behind one candidate, most people expected the status quo to prevail. | President Jammeh's defeat comes as a huge surprise. Despite a surge of support for an opposition broadly united behind one candidate, most people expected the status quo to prevail. |
| Hopes weren't high for a peaceful transfer of power, with a crackdown on opposition leaders months before the polls, the banning of international observers or post-election demonstrations, and then the switching off of the internet. | Hopes weren't high for a peaceful transfer of power, with a crackdown on opposition leaders months before the polls, the banning of international observers or post-election demonstrations, and then the switching off of the internet. |
| But in a place where glass beads are used in place of ballot papers, it seems that the marbles have spoken. | But in a place where glass beads are used in place of ballot papers, it seems that the marbles have spoken. |
| The unseating of an incumbent president is not the usual way politics goes in this part of the world - but it's becoming popular in West Africa at least, with Muhammadu Buhari unseating Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria just last year. | The unseating of an incumbent president is not the usual way politics goes in this part of the world - but it's becoming popular in West Africa at least, with Muhammadu Buhari unseating Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria just last year. |
| Former businessman Adama Barrow now has his chance to tackle the poverty and unemployment which drives so many young Gambians to join the Mediterranean migrant trail every year. | Former businessman Adama Barrow now has his chance to tackle the poverty and unemployment which drives so many young Gambians to join the Mediterranean migrant trail every year. |
| A devout Muslim, Mr Jammeh, 51, once said he would rule for "one billion years" if "Allah willed it". | A devout Muslim, Mr Jammeh, 51, once said he would rule for "one billion years" if "Allah willed it". |
| "It's really unique that someone who has been ruling this country for so long has accepted defeat," Mr Njie, the electoral commission chief, told reporters. | "It's really unique that someone who has been ruling this country for so long has accepted defeat," Mr Njie, the electoral commission chief, told reporters. |
| During the campaign, the country's mostly young population seemed to be yearning for change, said the BBC's Umaru Fofana in the capital, Banjul. | During the campaign, the country's mostly young population seemed to be yearning for change, said the BBC's Umaru Fofana in the capital, Banjul. |
| Human rights groups have accused Mr Jammeh, who has in the past claimed he can cure Aids and infertility, of repression and abuses. | Human rights groups have accused Mr Jammeh, who has in the past claimed he can cure Aids and infertility, of repression and abuses. |
| Several previous opposition leaders are in jail after taking part in a rare protest in April. | Several previous opposition leaders are in jail after taking part in a rare protest in April. |
| Observers from the European Union (EU) and the West African regional bloc Ecowas did not attend the vote. | Observers from the European Union (EU) and the West African regional bloc Ecowas did not attend the vote. |
| Who is Adama Barrow? | Who is Adama Barrow? |
| Gambian officials opposed the presence of Western observers, but the EU said it was staying away out of concern about the fairness of the voting process. | Gambian officials opposed the presence of Western observers, but the EU said it was staying away out of concern about the fairness of the voting process. |
| The African Union did despatch a handful of observers to supervise the vote, however. | The African Union did despatch a handful of observers to supervise the vote, however. |
| The Gambia, a tiny country with a population of fewer than two million, is surrounded on three sides by Senegal and has a short Atlantic coastline popular with European tourists. | The Gambia, a tiny country with a population of fewer than two million, is surrounded on three sides by Senegal and has a short Atlantic coastline popular with European tourists. |