UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Saturday "strongly condemned" the outgoing Gambian president, Yahya Jammeh, for rejecting official election results, and called on him to "respect the choice of the sovereign people" of the West African country.
In a press statement, the 15-nation UN council also called on the outgoing president to "transfer, without condition and undue delay, power to the president-elect, Mr. Adama Barrow."
"The members of the Security Council urged the outgoing president to carry out a peaceful and orderly transition process and they requested that the security of the president-elect, Adama Barrow, and that of all Gambian citizen be fully ensured," the statement said.
Jammeh on Friday rejected the results of the Dec. 1 election and called for his country to vote again -- a week after initially accepting his defeat.
The outgoing president, who has ruled Gambia since a 1994 military coup, suffered a shocking loss after running for his fifth term.
Jammeh, in his Dec. 2 address on Gambian state television, accepted his defeat and congratulated opponent Barrow on his victory.
The members of the Security Council called on Jammeh to respect the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol on democracy and good governance and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, notably the rejection of unconstitutional changes of government, the statement said.
"The members of the Security Council urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint, refrain from violence and remain calm," said the statement.
The council members called on the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWAS) and international partners, especially ECOWAS, to preserve stability in Gambia and work toward the installation of a democratically elected government in the country.
The council members further expressed their commitment to continue to follow closely the evolution of the situation in Gambia, the statement added.