Gambia's president Yahyah Jammeh defeated in presidential election

Long time Gambian leader Yahyah Jammeh, who vowed to rule the West African country for "a billion years", has been defeated in the country's presidential election, 22 years after seizing power in a coup.

The electoral commission headed by Alieu Momarr Njai announcing the results on state television on Friday declared Adama Barrow as president-elect, with 45.5 per cent of the vote against Jammeh's 36.7 per cent.

"Having received 263, 515 votes out of the total votes cast in the election, I hereby declare Adama Barrow newly elected to serve as president of the republic of the Gambia," Alieu Momarr Njai said..

Following the announcement, celebrations erupted in the streets of the capital Banjul.
According to reports, Jammeh is yet to concede defeat.

Adama Barrow, Gambia's president-elect

Gambians went to the polls on Thursday amid a total internet blackout, with all international calls cut, and land borders sealed.

The poll posed the first serious challenge to Jammeh since he seized power in a coup in 1994.

Barrow, a real estate developer who once worked as a security guard at retailer Argos in London, who also for the first time united and strenghtens Gambia's opposition, promised to revive the economy, whose slow growth has forced thousands of Gambians to flee to Europe in search of a better life.

Barrow also promised to end human rights abuses and to step down after three years as a boost to democracy.