Gambians are set to return to the polls on Saturday making it the first time in 27 years, Jammeh, who took power in a 1994 coup, will not be on the ballot.
However, Barrow, the incumbent president, and five other candidates are vying for the top post, in a closely watched vote that is seen as a test of the country’s democracy.
Political veteran, Ousainou Darboe, 73, is considered Barrow’s main rival. He is a former vice president and lawyer who has represented opponents of Jammeh of which Darboe ran for election against the ex-ruler several times.
Yahya Jammeh had once pledged he would govern The Gambia for “a billion years”, but his actual 22- year rule came to an end on the evening of January 21, 2017 when he and his close family members boarded a small, unmarked aircraft at the airport in the capital, Banjul.
Jammeh had refused to step down after a December 1, 2016 vote in which opposition leader, Adama Barrow, was declared the winner, triggering weeks of tension as West African leaders threatened to use military force to remove him if he failed to step down.
After days of negotiations with regional heads of state, Jammeh was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea, ending a tenure marked by a litany of alleged abuses and financial plunder.
