Wave of arrests in Gambia

The opposition criticised the way the election was conducted

The opposition coalition in the Gambia has said that 60 of its members have been arrested and detained since the presidential election on 18 October.

The coalition made up of three parties conceded defeat soon after final results proclaimed incumbent Yahya Jammeh the winner.

President Jammeh seems to be reverting to his old ways

But late on Wednesday it said that its supporters, mostly local ward organisers, were picked up "within less than 48 hours of the declaration of the results".

The police confirmed some arrests but said only 13 people are being held in connection with public order offences.

President Jammeh, who seized power in a military coup in 1994, won a second five-year term, with the main opposition coalition candidate and human rights lawyer Ousainou Darboe, coming second.

'Inept and corrupt'

According to Gambian law anyone arrested should either be released after 72 hours or charged, but that has not happened in this case.

Mr Darboe conceded electoral defeat

A Gambian human rights group supported by Amnesty International is also calling for the release of their leader, Mohammed Lamin Sillah.

The group said he was arrested on Monday.

Our correspondent says its not clear why he is being held, but says he believes it could be connected with an interview he gave to the BBC in which he had claimed that political insults had been targeted on the Mandingo ethnic group.

Mr Sillah had also criticised the alleged police harassment of opposition supporters.

The opposition coalition has again complained of the electoral commission's handling of the registration exercise calling it inept and corrupt.

Confusion

Mr Darboe said "many non-Gambians were clandestinely issued with national identity cards" which were then used to obtain voters cards.

The foreigners, he said belong to Mr Jammeh's ethnic group, mainly from the Casamance region of neighbouring Senegal.

The commission has denied the charges.

However, before polling day the electoral commission did take a last minute decision to relax the electoral procedure.

At first it had said only people on the official final voters' register could vote.

But the ruling party protested saying it would seek to change the ruling.

The following day the commission again reversed its decision and said those with a voter's card who appeared on a draft register, or "counterfoil" could cast a ballot.