Young men shouted and sang while hanging out of cars, and children danced with their mothers on main roads near the capital Banjul yesterday, where the long-serving leader Yahya Jammeh was believed to remain despite the expiry of his mandate and a military intervention that could remove him at any moment.
Gambians briefly forgot the Senegalese troops flowing over the border and the lack of resolution of the country's political crisis, cheering the president they have wanted to see take power for so long.
"We are grateful that God has answered our prayers," said Barrow supporter Soloman Jarja, grinning widely as he stood by the side of the road.
The chief of the Gambian army Ousman Badjie was spotted among the revellers in the area, after vowing on Wednesday night his men would not fight African troops approaching the capital.
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Living under the uncertainty of a state of emergency, citizens had earlier gathered in their homes to witness Barrow's inauguration on television.
Singing softly along to their national anthem, the extended family sat in near silence to hear Barrow's speech from Dakar promising reforms and a new future for one of the world's poorest nations.
"We have decided!" shouted musician Mohammed Kah when Barrow finished, jumping up from his sofa and causing an outbreak of laughter.
"Gambia has decided", is the phrase that has come to define the population's resilience in the face of Jammeh's efforts to stay in office despite losing the December 1 election to Barrow.
"I am very proud to be part of it," he said, smiling from beneath a black baseball cap.
"For the last 22 years we were living under a state of dictatorship," his friend Mohammed's cousin Corra Kah added. "Now we are free".
Acknowledging that as of late yesterday Jammeh remained firmly installed in Banjul while Barrow was sworn in, Kah said he welcomed the deployment of African troops.
"Right now the president, he doesn't want to step down. The ECOWAS force is preparing to come... And remove him."
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