Gambia’s president Yahya Jammeh declares state of emergency

Move comes two days before inauguration of December’s election victor Adama Barrow

Gambia’s president Al Hadji Yahya Jammeh: Refuses to hand power to opposition leader Adama Barrow. Photograph: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters
Gambia’s president Al Hadji Yahya Jammeh: Refuses to hand power to opposition leader Adama Barrow. Photograph: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

Gambian president Yahya Jammeh declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, state television said, after refusing to hand power to opposition leader Adama Barrow who won an election on December 1st.

He said the move would prevent a power vacuum while the supreme court decides on his petition challenging opposition leader Barrow’s victory

The precise terms of the state of emergency and its implications for Thursday’s inauguration of the president-elect were not immediately known.

The statement read on state television suggests the veteran leader will stay in power beyond Thursday.

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Regional leaders threaten military intervention if Jammeh does not step down.

– Reuters