Gambian president to challenge election defeat in Supreme Court

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has rejected his election defeat. Credit: Reuters

Gambia's outgoing president Yahya Jammeh will contest his election loss at before the country's Supreme Court, the ruling party has announced.

Jammeh lost to opposition leader, Adama Barrow - a former Argos security guard - in last week's presidential election.

On Saturday, despite initially conceding defeat to his rival, Jammeh said that he now rejected the poll results "in totality", blaming voting irregularities.

In a state broadcast, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction said it was in the process of filing a petition "against the flawed decision" of the elections commission.

President-elect Adama Barrow Credit: APTN

Meanwhile, the President-elect has said the outgoing president has no constitutional authority to reject the election result and order a fresh vote.

"The IEC (Independent Electoral Commission) is the only competent authority to announce the result of the election and declare a win," Barrow said.

The African Union has urged Jammeh to facilitate a "peaceful" transfer of power, and said his rejection of the polls is "null and void" as he already conceded defeat.