Yahya Jammeh has been in power for 22 years
The Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh is about to concede defeat, the electoral commission chairman has told the BBC.
Mr Jammeh, who has been in power for 22 years, faced estate agent Adama Barrow in Thursday's election.
Electoral commission chief Alieu Momar Njie said it was unprecedented for a Gambian head of state to accept defeat before the final results.
The West African country has not had a smooth transfer of power since independence in 1965.
There has been no official word from Mr Jammeh, who took power in a coup in 1994.
The 51-year-old leader has been trailing Mr Barrow in partial results and was defeated in the capital, Banjul, his stronghold.
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Behind The Gambia's smile
A devout Muslim, Mr Jammeh once said he would rule for "one billion years" if "Allah willed it".
"It's really unique that someone who has been ruling this country for so long has accepted defeat," Mr Njie told reporters.
Analysis: BBC World Service Africa editor Mary Harper
Mr Jammeh's concession has been greeted with astonishment in The Gambia, where most people expected him to win. He has served four terms as president but it now looks as though this unpredictable and ruthless man is to be replaced by an estate agent.
Mr Jammeh's 22 years in power have brought repression and intolerance to this tiny seaside nation, popular for cheap holidays in the sun.
He has been tough on journalists, the opposition and gay people. He also said he could cure Aids and infertility.
During the campaign, the country's mostly young population seemed to be yearning for change, said the BBC's Umaru Fofana in Banjul.
The economic challenges the country faces have forced many to make the perilous journey to Europe, with some drowning on the way, he said.

Adama Barrow has proved popular with younger voters
Human rights groups have accused Mr Jammeh, who has in the past claimed he can cure Aids and infertility, of repression and abuses.
Several previous opposition leaders are in jail after taking part in a rare protest in April.
Observers from the European Union (EU) and the West African regional bloc Ecowas did not attend the vote.
Who is Adama Barrow?
Born in 1965 in small village near the eastern market town of Basse
Moved to London in the 2000s, reportedly working as a security guard at Argos department store while studying
Returned to The Gambia in 2006 to set up his own property company
Won the presidential nomination in 2016 to lead coalition of seven opposition parties
Has criticised the lack of a two-term limit on the presidency
Has said he would introduce a three-year transitional government made up from members of the opposition coalition if he wins.
Gambian officials opposed the presence of Western observers, but the EU said it was staying away out of concern about the fairness of the voting process.
The African Union did despatch a handful of observers to supervise the vote, however.
The Gambia, a tiny country with a population of fewer than two million, is surrounded on three sides by Senegal and has a short Atlantic coastline popular with European tourists.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38183906




Cc:Lalastica
Cc:seun
Cc:ishilove

He should do the needful.
End time defeat

EmmzyWhite:
He should do the needful.
End time defeat

I made ftc on my 2nd day to join nairaland

22 years of leadership African leaders can rule for the world. (not Africa again ) Old men every where willing to do anything to remain in power till death.

"He would rule for one billion years if Allah willed it" unfortunately only the people are vested with such powers