Gambian President Adama Barrow threatened one of his opponent presidential election candidates with legal action for playing audio recordings of exiled former leader Yahya Jammeh at a campaign event, reported Yahoo News.
Barrow will be running against five other candidates to retain the office he won from Jammeh in 2016. After serving for 22 long years, Jammeh fled to Equatorial Guinea in 2017 after a six-week deadlock following his decision to challenge the result of an election won by Barrow.
Jammeh spoke via audio message on Monday at an election campaign rally for opposition candidate Mama Kandeh, whose candidacy he has endorsed. Kandeh came in third place in the 2016 polls.
“An alliance between a master and the slave is always a good alliance,” said Jammeh. “Myself and Mama Kandeh would be the best team the Gambia has ever had.”
On Tuesday night, Barrow warned that Kandeh could face legal action if he continues to play recordings of Jammeh. The Gambian president, however, did not say what law this violates.
“I am warning Mamma Kandeh to stay away from inviting Yahya Jammeh in his campaign platforms and I will tell the Independent Electoral Commission to notify Kandeh before we take any action,” Barrow said at a campaign event.
The Gambian president’s candidacy is controversial in its own right. He initially said he would only serve as a transitional leader for three years but later reversed his decision and decided to stand for re-election.
The coastal West African nation is gearing up for national elections on Dec. 4. A total of 6 candidates will be running for the presidential post. The Gambian Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) disqualified 15 of the 21 candidacies.
The upcoming election, the first that will take place since Jammeh left, is seen as a test of the country’s democratic transition.
