By Kebba Jeffang
The president elect has faulted the APRC’s candidate’s intention to file an election petition at the Supreme Court to challenge the 
outcome of the 1st December presidential election describing the move as legitimating the illegal actions of the outgoing president.
Reading out the statement to the press on behalf of the president-elect on Monday, December 12, 2016, Mr. Mai Fatty recalled that APRC on Saturday, 10th December announced on the state TV, its intention to file a process in court to challenge the results of the December 1st election. He said the statement on GRTS states that “the previous statement by outgoing president Jammeh was a prelude to the proposed court action.”
He noted that President-elect Adama Barrow and the coalition hereby unequivocally reject the implied notion that President Yahya Jammeh misspoke or made a mistake in his statement. He said president Jammeh’s intentions were crystal clear as there was no ambiguity in what he said. He said that Jammeh has rejected the results of the election and declared them null and void and further announced that new election would be held under the auspices of a new IEC.
“We therefore dismiss the attempt to legitimize the illegal actions of the outgoing president and even the idea that his actions are capable of being legitimized. His petition or process filed in court will be a further demonstration that the outgoing president and his party have no respect or regard for the Gambian people, are bent on ignoring their aspirations, and undermining the transition process,” said Fatty.
Mai Fatty who is also a lawyer said the Gambian people should know that there is no Supreme Court at this point in the Gambia and that there has not been one for over one year.
“We do not recognize that the outgoing president has the constitutional authority in the last days of his presidency to appoint a Supreme Court judge in the Gambia for the purpose of receiving his petition,” he said.
He reiterated the call of the international community, in particular the United Nations Security Council, ECOWAS and the AU, and demanded that outgoing President Jammeh should step down and handover power.
“We also call on the APRC to prevail on their Secretary General, outgoing President Jammeh to respect the outcome of the election and to refrain from any futile attempt to further subvert the Gambian people’s yearning for true democracy,” Fatty concluded.
