OUTCOME OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN THE GAMBIA

That this House notes the result of the presidential election in the Gambia, held on 1 December 2016, which Adama Barrow won; welcomes the remarks made by outgoing President Yahya Jammeh which acknowledge his defeat and commit to a peaceful transfer of power; further notes that Mr Barrow will become only the third Gambian head of state since the country's independence in 1965; hopes that the new President and his government will govern for the benefit of all Gambians, many of whom live in poverty, will uphold their international human rights obligations, including by releasing all political prisoners and those who have disappeared and by reforming all repressive laws, and will not pull out of the International Criminal Court; and calls on the Government to monitor the situation closely with a view to supporting a peaceful transfer of power and good grievance in the Gambia.