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| Yahya Jammeh & Adama Barrow |
ABUJA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - West African
leaders will take a "major decision" on the political impasse in Gambia
at a meeting in Ghana on Saturday, a spokesman for the Nigerian
presidency said on Friday.
The
West African ECOWAS bloc said last month it would take all necessary
steps to uphold the result of a Dec. 1 election in Gambia, where veteran
President Yahya Jammeh says he will not step down after losing to Adama
Barrow.
ECOWAS has placed
standby forces on alert in case Jammeh attempts to stay in power after
his mandate ends on Jan. 19. Jammeh has called the bloc's stance "a
declaration of war", and said he will defend himself.
"A
major decision on the impasse is expected to be taken at that
all-important meeting," said Garba Shehu, spokesman for Nigeria's
President Muhammadu Buhari. "President Buhari is the chief mediator of the crisis and he is committed to ensuring that the logjam is resolved."
Jammeh
initially accepted his loss in the Dec. 1 election, shocking Gambians
who have lived through his repressive rule since he took power in a 1994
coup, and triggering celebrations in the streets.
But
a week later changed his mind, saying the electoral commission had been
biased by "foreign influences" and vowing to hang on despite regional
and international condemnation.
Jammed
says ECOWAS has no right to interfere in Gambia's internal affairs, and
that Gambians should await the outcome of a legal challenge that his
APRC party has lodged at the Supreme Court.
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