Gambia's Yahya Jammeh in shock election loss after 22-year rule

Gambian leader Yahyah Jammeh lost presidential election with 36.7 percent of votes against Opposition leader Adama Barrow's 45.5 percent. (Photo: AFP)

Banjul: Gambian leader Yahyah Jammeh, who vowed to rule the tiny West African nation for "a billion years", was handed a shock election defeat on Friday 22 years after seizing power in a coup.

The electoral commission head declared Adama Barrow president-elect on state television, with 45.5 percent of the vote against Jammeh's 36.7 percent.