Banjul/Dakar — 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 was 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. His declaration of a 90-day state of emergency came as West African nations were preparing to send a military force to remove him from power. In a speech on state TV late Tuesday, Jammeh said the measure was necessary because of the “unprecedented and extraordinary amount of interference” in the December 1 ballot. He also cited the Supreme Court’s inability to hear his petition disputing the outcome of the vote, blaming “foreign powers”. West African nations planned to send troops to Gambia to force Jammeh from office if he did not stand down, a military official said ear...
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