Parliament extends Jammeh’s term as tension mounts

The Gambia’s National Assembly has extended the embattled president Yahya Jammeh’s term by three months just hours before his constitutional mandate ends. The move is coming a day after Jammeh declared 90-day state of emergency which he said was necessary due to “unprecedented and extraordinary amount of foreign interference” in the country’s internal affairs. Jammeh, […]

The Gambia’s National Assembly has extended the embattled president Yahya Jammeh’s term by three months just hours before his constitutional mandate ends.
The move is coming a day after Jammeh declared 90-day state of emergency which he said was necessary due to “unprecedented and extraordinary amount of foreign interference” in the country’s internal affairs.
Jammeh, after 22 years in office, is refusing to step down despite international pressure, and even threat of an imminent invasion by ECOWAS troops to force him to hand over power to the President-elect Adama Barrow.
In a televised announcement on Tuesday, Jammeh said “any acts of disobedience to the laws of The Gambia, incitement of violence and acts intended to disturb public order and peace” were banned under the state of emergency.
He said security forces were instructed to “maintain absolute peace, law and order”.
Barrow, who is currently in Senegal, is scheduled to take office today. He insists his inauguration will proceed as planned, plunging the country on a collision course.
Senegal, which is spearheading the West African military intervention, gave Jammeh a midnight deadline to quit. Senegalese troops have reportedly moved towards The Gambian border ahead of possible intervention.
The Nigerian Air Force has also moved a contingent of 200 men and air assets comprising fighter jets, transport aircraft, Light Utility Helicopter as well as Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft to Dakar, Senegal from where it is expected to operate into Gambia.
Senegal on Wednesday presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council seeking support for West African efforts to press Jammeh to step down, diplomats said in New York.
But the text does not explicitly seek council authorisation to deploy troops to The Gambia, they added.
Jammeh’s refusal to step down has plunged the country of about two million people into crisis. His allies, including the vice president have deserted in their droves.
Vice-president Isatou Njie-Saidy resigned Wednesday, according to family sources, along with environment minister Pa Ousman Jarju, bringing to eight the number of ministers so far resigned from his government.
Thousands of Gambians have fled to neighbouring Senegal and other places for fear of violence.
At least 26,000 people have fled Gambia to Senegal fearing unrest, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said yesterday, citing Senegalese government figures.
The political stalemate is also taking a huge toll on Gambia’s economy, with tourism, which has become the fastest-growing sector, bearing the brunt of the crisis.
Thousands of European holidaymakers were being evacuated from the country after their governments issued travel advisory warnings.
About 1,000 British and 1,600 Dutch tourists left Gambia on special flights on Wednesday alone. Jammeh, who once vowed to rule the country for “billion years”, had initially accepted defeat but later rejected the result, citing irregularities in the process that produced Barrow.
He had lodged a complaint with the country’s Supreme Court.  But the court lacks the judges to rule on the challenge.