The
winner of December's presidential election in The Gambia says there is
no need for President Yahya Jammeh to seek asylum and he is confident
direct talks can solve the crisis.
Adama Barrow
Adama Barrow told the BBC he was confident he would be sworn in
next week despite his rival's refusal to give up power. Nigeria's
leader, President Muhammadu Buhari has flown to Banjul to try and broker
an end to the deadlock.
Nigeria's House of Representatives members have voted to offer Mr
Jammeh asylum to help negotiations. Mr Jammeh's term officially ends
next Wednesday, but he wants the results annulled after the electoral
commission changed some - though it insists this did not affect the
final outcome.
The 51-year-old leader, who initially accepted defeated in the 1
December poll, seized power in the tiny country in 1994 and has been
accused of human rights abuses, although he has held regular elections.
The Supreme Court is unable to hear the challenge until May because
of a shortage of judges, and Mr Jammeh says he will not step down until
then.
Foreign leaders from regional bloc ECOWAS, led by President
Muhammadu Buhari, have arrived in The Gambia to again try to persuade Mr
Jammeh to step down on schedule.
The grouping has warned that it would consider removing him using
military force if he refuses. But Mr Barrow, a property developer, told
the BBC's Newsday programme that he would prefer a "peaceful
transition".
He said he welcomed the move by Nigeria MPs to offer Mr Jammeh
asylum, but said he did not feel the situation would "get to this
level".
"We want to keep Jammeh in The Gambia, I don't think there's any need for him to go to another country."
He called on Mr Jammeh to "respect the constitution" and engage in direct talks.
"We solve our problems within ourselves without the intervention of anybody. I think that's what we'd prefer," he said.
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