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Gambia polls: Can Barrow sustain early lead?
By Tasie Theodore
With results from the first four of 53 voting constituencies posting an early lead for incumbent President Adama Barrow, the question on the lips of observers is whether he would be able to sustain the early lead going forward.
A former security guard and property developer who pulled a surprise defeat of long-standing dictator, Yahya Jammeh in the 2016 polls, Barrow had at that time pledged not to stay in office for more than three years. His breaking of that promise as well as his last-minute romance with the camp of Jammeh are two points that the opposition has used against him in the run up to voting.
However, these misgivings do not seem to have totally pushed the tables against him as preliminary results from four of the fiirst 53 constituencies where elections were conducted on Saturday and in which counting has been done confirmed that Barrow is in the lead, having polled as much as 14,599 votes compared with the 6,188 in favour of his closest rival and former political mentor and ally, Ousainou Darboe.
One of the expected fall-outs of the contest, analysts say is what becomes of the probe outcome on the abuses carried out during the Jammeh years, a report that Barrow had tactically put aside after its submission to him weeks before the contest. Would the government that emerges then proceed to take action on it and bring full and final closure to the very rapacious Jammeh era?
President Adama Barrow of Gambia
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