Yahya Jammeh declares three-month state of emergency in Gambia

Embattled President of Gambia Yahya Jammeh has declared a three-month state of emergency three days to the elapse of his term in office.

In a television broadcast on Tuesday evening, Jammeh announced that the 90 days state of emergency starts from January 17 to April 17, 2017.

The resolution was passed by the country’s National Assembly after a motion was tabled by Majority Leader Fabakary Jatta on Tuesday morning as indicated by the order paper made available to the media.

The National Assembly condemned “the unlawful and malicious interference in the internal affairs of The Gambia by the AU Peace and Security Council, Government of the Republic of Senegal, and Senegal’s Representative at the UNSC.”

#BREAKING: #Gambia‘s National Assembly passes State of Emergency Resolution to be effective Jan 17th – April 17, 2017 as #Jammeh term ends pic.twitter.com/CRwKg3SM2Q

— Alhagie Jobe (@freejobe39) January 17, 2017

It also approved a resolution extending its life for 90 days effective from April 11 to July 11, 2017.

These resolutions follow a press conference by President-elect Adama Barrow’s spokesperson, Halifa Sallah, who insisted that the inauguration on Thursday will take place on Gambian soil.

President Yahya Jammeh’s petitions at the Supreme Court to annul and rerun the December 1 polls, as well as halt the inauguration have not yielded any fruit as a result of the unavailability of judges who only seat in May and November.

ECOWAS has attempted resolving the issue by convincing Jammeh to step down, yet mediation efforts remain inconclusive.

Adama Barrow is currently living in Dakar since Sunday at the request of the ECOWAS chairperson Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Senegalese President Macky Sall agreed on Saturday to host Barrow until his inauguration on Thursday when he will be escorted by some African leaders to the event.