Gambia's outgoing president rejects vote

Gambia's outgoing President Yahya Jammeh has abruptly announced that he rejects the results of the December 1 elections that swept opposition candidate Adama Barrow to power.

Jammeh, who has ruled the West African country for 22 years, made the announcement on state television.

He had previously called Barrow to congratulate the winner, conceding defeat and vowing not to contest the result.

"I hereby reject the results in totality," Jammeh said on state television on Friday, citing irregularities in the electoral process.

"Our investigations revealed that in some cases, voters were told the opposition won already, they returned home," he said. He added that that the number of voter cards did not tally with the national voter register.

Gambian courts have already started releasing people jailed for protesting against Jammeh's government, after Barrow pledged to free political prisoners.