The Gambia’s parliament has extended President Yahya Jammeh’s term, which is due to end on Thursday following his defeat in elections, by 90 days.

It also approved his decision to declare a 90-day state of emergency in the tiny West African state.

The BBC reports that regional leaders have threatened to use military force to oust Mr Jammeh if he refuses to hand power to President-elect Adama Barrow on Thursday.

Thousands of UK and Dutch tourists are being evacuated from The Gambia.

The country is popular with European holidaymakers because of its beaches. </s> As the deadline for the expiration of the mandate of the Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, gets closer, members of the National Assembly today, extended Jammeh’s term for another three months. The term of the National Assembly was also extended for three months. Both terms were due to expire on Wednesday at midnight Gambian time.

Ruling APRC MPS voter massively voted for the extension of the term of the National Assembly and that of dictator Jammeh. Mr. Jammeh has filed a petition in court challenging the outcome of the elections.

This followed a state of emergency declared by dictator Jammeh, citing external interference in Gambia’s internal politics. He also said there is increasing fear in the country, amid reports of an ECOWAS invasion to send Jammeh packing.

President elect Adama Barrow, is expected to be sworn in on Thursday. He temporally lives pending his inauguration. </s> Gambia's Jammeh can stay in office for three months -national assembly

BANJUL, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Gambia's National Assembly has passed a resolution to allow President Yahya Jammeh to stay in office for three months from Wednesday, state television said.

Jammeh lost an election in December to opposition leader Adama Barrow and is due to hand over power on Thursday, but the veteran leader has declared a state of emergency and says he will not step down before a court hears his election challenge. (Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Dominic Evans) </s> Gambia lawmakers have extended President Yahya Jammeh’s stay in office by 90 days.

The lawmakers had on Wednesday given the controversial leader another 3 months of grace. as announced on the country’s State television.

This, report says is to ward off any form of military action and violence that may result from his insistence to remain as president.

Jammeh who has been in power for over two decades, initially acknowledged opponent Adama Barrow as the winner of elections in December.

He later made a U-turn, rejecting the ballot count and lodged a complaint with the country’s Supreme Court and and vowed never to hand over to the winner of the poll.

Barrow is due to be inaugurated on Thursday, as Nigeria and other West African nations have started deploying troops to the tiny nation.

Jammeh had declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, just days before he was due to step down, with British and Dutch travel agencies scrambling to evacuate thousands of tourists on Wednesday. </s> The tiny West African nation of Gambia is on the verge of a military intervention as its leader of 22 years, Yahya Jammeh, refuses to relinquish power to president-elect Adama Barrow.

Tens of thousands of residents have fled, as troops from Nigeria and Senegal prepare to invade the country and use force to install Mr Barrow as the rightful president on January 19.

Mr Jammeh initially accepted the December 1 election result, but a week later, he reversed his decision, claiming that voter fraud had cost him the election. He has since petitioned Gambia's Supreme Court for a re-run of the polls, in what critics have said is simply an attempt to cling to power. On Wednesday Gambia's parliament voted to extend his term by 90 days.

Delegations led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf have tried to convince Mr Jammeh to step aside, to little result. </s> Yahya Jammeh has ruled a tiny slice of West Africa for 22 years, but his refusal to step down Wednesday after his defeat in last month's elections in Gambia has created an outsized headache for regional leaders. Jammeh was supposed to leave power to pave the way for Thursday's inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow , but parliament voted to extend his term for 90 days, testing the resolve of West African leaders who have threatened send in a military force to oust him if he doesn't go.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Los Angeles Times. </s> Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, seen December 2, 2016, has been the leader of the country for 22 years. By Handout (GRTS - Gambia Radio and Television Services/AFP/File)

Washington (AFP) - The White House on Saturday sharply criticized longtime Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh's declaration that he would not accept the results of the country's December 1 vote.

"The United States strongly condemns the decision by President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia to ignore the will of the Gambian people in calling for the December 1 election to be nullified," National Security Council Spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

"The United States appeals to all Gambians to reject violence and seek a peaceful resolution that upholds the will of the Gambian people and advances the promise of a freer, more democratic, and more prosperous Gambia."

A week after conceding defeat, Jammeh on Friday declared that he no longer accepted the results of the election, upending hopes for a peaceful political transition after his 22 years in power.

The NSC specifically called on the country's security services "to uphold their sacred duty to protect all Gambians and reject any instruction to suppress peaceful expressions of dissent."

Jammeh, a devout Muslim who seized power in 1994 in the former British colony, warned Gambians not to take to the streets to protest his decision.

Signs of a massive security ramp-up multiplied across the capital Banjul on Saturday, while the United Nations Security Council led calls for Jammeh, 51, to stand down and eschew violence.

Latest official figures gave Adama Barrow, a consensus candidate backed by a coalition of opposition groups, 43.29 percent of the vote in the presidential election, while Jammeh took 39.64 percent. The turnout was 59 percent.

Those figures reflect a correction issued Monday by election authorities, showing a slimmer-than-thought victory for Barrow, of just over 19,000 votes. </s> Gambia's Jammeh can stay in office for three months -national assembly

BANJUL, Jan 18 (Reuters) - 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.

Gambia is one of Africa's smallest countries and has had just two rulers since independence in 1965. Jammeh seized power in a coup in 1994 and his government has gained a reputation among ordinary Gambians and human rights activists for torturing and killing opponents.

Few people expected him to lose the election and the result was greeted with joy by many in the country and by democracy advocates across the continent, particularly when Jammeh initially said he would accept the result and step down.

Jammeh's decision to reverse that position has created political turmoil. At least five ministers have resigned from his government, hundreds of people have fled to neighbouring Senegal and others in the country say they fear violence.

British tour operator Thomas Cook started evacuating nearly 1,000 holidaymakers on Wednesday. It said on its website it was laying on extra flights in the next 48 hours to remove 985 package tour customers.

It was also trying to contact a further 2,500 'flight only' tourists in Gambia to arrange for their departure on the earliest available flight, it said in a statement.

Gambia's economy relies on one main crop, peanuts, and tourism. Its beaches are popular with European holidaymakers seeking a winter break. (Reporting by Ed Cropley; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Dominic Evans) </s> Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, just two days before he is supposed to cede power after losing elections last month. Jammeh is refusing to step down despite international pressure and the threat by other West African nations of a military intervention. The 90-day state of emergency, announced on state television, was to begin immediately. In the announcement, Jammeh also blamed what he calls the unprecedented level of foreign involvement in Gambia’s election. The National Assembly, in approving the state of emergency, condemned the “unlawful and malicious interference” by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, which has said the continental body will no longer recognize Jammeh as Gambia’s legitimate leader as of Thursday.

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President-elect Adama Barrow, the man who ousted Jammeh in the December election, is vowing to take power on Thursday despite Jammeh’s refusal to leave. Jammeh says the country must wait for Gambia’s supreme court to decide on the ruling party’s challenge to the election results, a delay that could take months. On Monday, Gambia’s chief justice recused himself and said he could not rule on Jammeh’s request for an injunction blocking Barrow’s inauguration.

Meanwhile, members of Jammeh’s cabinet are fleeing. Gambia’s foreign affairs minister, along with the ministers of finance, trade and environment, all have resigned, a political official in Banjul said Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The country’s information minister earlier went into exile in Senegal.

Jammeh has ruled Gambia for more than 22 years. He initially went on state television to concede his election defeat, only to make a dramatic about-face a week later. West Africa’s regional bloc has a standby force for possible military intervention if Jammeh doesn’t step down when his mandate ends this week. Gambia, a tiny nation of 1.9 million people, is estimated to have an army of just 900 troops.

 Barrow is currently in Senegal, and the regional bloc, ECOWAS, has urged Barrow to stay there until Thursday’s inauguration for his safety. On Monday, he was unable to attend the funeral for his 7-year-old son, who had been fatally mauled by a dog a day earlier.
The National Assembly of the Gambia approves extending Yahya Jammeh's term as President of the country for 90 more days.