Lawmakers in the Gambia on Tuesday endorsed a resolution that extends the term of office of President Yahya Jammeh and all members of the National Assembly for 90 days.
The term of President Jammeh ends at midnight on Wednesday, and the term of office of elected members of the National Assembly ends on March 31, 2017.
Endorsed late on Tuesday night, the extension of the terms of the president and lawmakers came shortly after Jammeh declared a state of emergency for 90 days, which was approved by the MPs.
The National Assembly, which is dominated by Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), approved the declaration and proclamation, noting that it was now legal that a state of public emergency existed in the Gambia for a period of 90 days.
The MPs said that extending the life of the National Assembly was in line with Section 99(2) of the 1997 Constitution, adding that the term of office of the President shall also be extended for the same period as that of the National Assembly.
Jammeh, who lost the December 1, election to Adama Barrow, has refused to hand over and has filed a petition at the Supreme Court which may not hear it before May, as it does not have enough judges.
Efforts of West African leaders to ask him to bow out peacefully have failed as he has rejected all mediation efforts. He has also been hit by resignations by members of his cabinet who disagree with him on how he is handling the political situation.
Rather, he has been digging in, clamping on the media, filing an injunction at the Supreme Court to stop Barrow’s inauguration and ordering arrests in a general atmosphere of fear and panic. Barrow is now in neighboring Senegal.
