As the dust surrounding the September 22nd Presidential elections begins to settle, heads of election observer groups, have expressed satisfaction with the environment under which the elections were carried out.

Speaking to journalists yesterday, shortly after a courtesy call on the President-elect at State House, Abdul Salami Abubakar, representative of the UN Secretary General and former Head of State of Nigeria, concluded that the election process was conducted peacefully. He said this provided Gambians the chance to express their will. Mr Abubakar observed that other African countries could learn from The Gambia, especially the peaceful co-existence of people with different religious backgrounds and ethnicity. According to him, this is responsible for the vibrant tourism in the country.

For his part, Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, former Secretary General of the OAU and Chairman of the Commonwealth Observer Group, said they received no complaints from the opposition, following the announcement of results. He asserted that there have been a lot of improvements in The Gambian electoral process.

Commenting on his meeting with President Jammeh, Dr Salim said their discussion resolved around several issues, including ongoing Commonwealth projects and also those in the offing. He then congratulated President Jammeh on his re-election.