Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38662000 and http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gambia ... KKBN1520NM
Outgoing Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, is so desperate to stay in power, that he has gone as far as to declare a state of emergency and impose a 90-day term extension, after creating a Supreme Court case to try and overturn the election result. This is a sharp contrast to his initial decision to simply respect the election result in which Adama Barrow won.
Attempts by ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) to get Jammeh to step down, with what little of his reputation being intact, have failed. Now, ECOWAS, after getting the OK from the African Union, have threatened to deploy a Senegal-led force to remove Jammeh, if he does not step down soon. Thousands of Gambians have already fled the country, and countries like the UK and the Netherlands have recalled all their tourists.
Given his human rights record before the election, Yahya Jammeh simply has to go. Jammeh is risking running his reputation and his country to the ground if he continues to come up with desperate measures to stay in power, despite Adama Barrow (currently in Senegal but vowing to return to the Gambia tomorrow to start his presidency) about to be recognised as the sole legitimate President of the Gambia by virtually everyone but the closest of Jammeh’s allies.
Jammeh, who seized power in a coup back in ’94, did also have a bit of a cult of personality, putting his portrait on all dalasi banknotes issued since 15 April 2015: before then they had representative portraits of Gambian people.
What are your thoughts about Mr. Yahya Jammeh and his desperate attempts to stay in power?
