Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow will stay in Senegal until his inauguration on January 19, the Senegalese authorities announced on Saturday night.
The government said they were harbouring Barrow on the instruction of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
“Senegalese President Macky Sall agreed in Bamako on Saturday to host Gambian President-elect Adama Barrow in Dakar until his inauguration,” Senegalese news agency APS reported.
APS added that the request was made by the ECOWAS chairperson, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who advised that Barrow stays in Dakar until the inauguration day when he will be escorted to Banjul.
Adama Barrow arrived in Dakar on Sunday from the 27th France-Africa summit in Mali which he attended with ECOWAS leaders on Friday evening after mediation talks with Yahya Jammeh ended inconclusively.
ECOWAS is expected to revisit talks with Jammeh who is seeking to mar the inauguration after a recent court application to place an injunction on the exercise which ends his term of office.
Thousands of Gambians have reportedly fled the country as the inauguration is getting close due to the heightened security situation in the country.
The army has pledged its support for President Jammeh who wants a fresh election.
After the botched talks by West African leaders to persuade Jammeh to quit following his election, Barrow was tactically taken out of Banjul on Friday by President Muhammadu Buhari to attend the Africa-France summit in Bamako, Mali.
