Ten weeks after stunning America and the world by winning the US election, Donald Trump will be sworn-in as the 45th President of the United States of America today.
He will replace Barack Obama in the White House, but not before a ceremony that dates back to George Washington.
Donald Trump’s inauguration to become president takes place at noon local time (5pm GMT).
The main ceremony will be held at the White House, followed by a number of Inaugural Balls across the city of Washington DC. And the official swearing-in ceremony occurs on the steps in front of the Capitol.
The US election was held on November 8, 2016, but Donald Trump does not officially become president until midday on January 20.
Until 1933, the new president was inaugurated on March 4, four months after election day.
Meanwhile, Gambia’s President-elect, Adama Barrow has taken the oath of office in neighbouring Senegal, while the country’s longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh refuses to step down, deepening a political crisis.
Barrow, the winner of a disputed December 1 vote, was inaugurated on Thursday in a hastily-arranged ceremony at Gambia’s Embassy in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
“This is a day no Gambian will ever forget in a lifetime,” Barrow said in a speech immediately after being sworn in.
Shortly after his inauguration, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution backing efforts by West African states to ensure Barrow assumes power from Jammeh, but stressed that it should be pursued by political means first.
The council’s decision came as the Nigerian army said it was deploying troops to Gambia as part of a regional force aiming to uphold the result of December’s presidential elections.
“The Nigerian military will deploy its assets as part of (a) standby force to protect the people of the Gambia and maintain sub regional peace and security,” the armed forces said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Jammeh, who came to power in a 1994 coup, declared a national state of emergency, while the parliament has extended his term in office by 90 days.
In Dakar, the small embassy room held about 40 people, including Senegal’s Prime Minister, the head of Gambia’s electoral commission and officials from ECOWAS, West Africa’s regional bloc.
In his inauguration speech, Barrow called on ECOWAS, the African Union and United Nations to “support the government and people of the Gambia in enforcing their will”.
He also ordered Gambia’s armed forces to remain in their barracks and called for “allegiance to the motherland”.
Fort News 