Gambia lawmakers extend President Jammeh’s term

BANJUL — Gambia’s National Assembly has passed a resolution to allow President Yahya Jammeh, who lost an election in December, to stay in office for three months from Wednesday when he was due to leave power. The decision announced on state television will raise tension with leaders of the West African bloc ECOWAS who have threatened sanctions or military force to make Jammeh hand over to opposition leader Adama Barrow who won the election. Jammeh on Tuesday declared a state of emergency, saying it it was to prevent a power vacuum while the supreme court rules on his petition challenging the election result. The National Assembly resolution almost certainly gives the government authority to prevent Adama’s inauguration. Barrow is in Senegal and could, in theory, be sworn in as president at the Gambian embassy in that country, which is technically on Gambian soil. — Reuters