Gambia Declares 90-Day State of Emergency

Gambia declared a 90-day state of emergency on Tuesday, two days before President Yahya Jammeh was to step down after losing the election last month.

Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia for 22 years with an iron fist, has refused to accept the result of the December 1 election, which saw him lose power to Adama Barrow, a real estate mogul little known before his candidacy.

Barrow, who is scheduled to be sworn in as president on Thursday, fled Gambia on Saturday to the Senegalese capital, Dakar, amid fears of violence.

Senegalese President Macky Sall had accepted to host Barrow at the request of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after repeated attempts failed to convince Jammeh to cede power.

ECOWAS also pledged to send troops to ensure a peaceful transition of power.

Earlier Tuesday, Tourism and Culture Minister Benjamin Roberts said he will step down, in a sign of dwindling support for Jammeh.

Roberts is the sixth member of the incumbent president’s cabinet to resign in less than 48 hours, following the ministers of trade, foreign affairs, finance, environment and sport.

Observers believe the resignations show that Jammeh, 51, is increasingly politically isolated.

On Monday, Gambia’s Supreme Court postponed for the second time a petition Jammeh filed to challenge the election.

The court has been dysfunctional since Jammeh fired several of its judges in mid-2016 and can only sit if judges are flown in from neighbouring Nigeria or Sierra Leone.