(JollofNews) – President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia is making a last ditch attempt to hang on to power by using the country’s National Assembly to extend his mandate, JollofNews has been informed.
According to parliamentary sources, which have not been independently confirmed, Mr Jammeh has drafted a bill asking his APRC dominated National Assembly to effect an amendment to the 1997 Constitution of the Gambia.
The National Assembly Members who are being recalled for a three-day extraordinary session beginning on Monday to Wednesday by President Jammeh, will discuss the current political standoff in the country and amend section 63 (2) of the constitution which states that: “The person declared elected as president shall take the prescribed oaths and assume office on the day the term of office of the incumbent president expires.”
According to sources, the National Assembly Members will add another sub-section in the constitution stating to the near meaning – where there is an election petition in the Supreme Court, the person declared elected shall not take the prescribed oaths and assume office until the matter is decided by the Supreme Court.
Our sources added that to prevent the Office of the President from being vacant, the Assembly Members will argue that the incumbent should remain in office until the petition is decided.
The Assembly Members will also pass into law a bill granting immunity from prosecution to Mr Jammeh, his ministers and security services for any wrongs they might have committed whether intentionally or unintentionally in the execution of their official duties.
President Jammeh is facing sustained international pressure to handover power at the end of his term on Wednesday after his defeat in last month’s election by opposition candidate Adama Barrow.
He had initially conceded defeat and praised the country’s electoral system as rigged proof, but changed his mind a week later and declared the results null and void citing huge and unacceptable mistakes by the electoral commission.
Mr Jammeh later filed a suit at the supreme court asking judges to determine that Adama Barrow was not duly elected or returned as president, and that the said election was void.
But the court is unable to hold a hearing until May – as most of the judges come from neighbouring countries – and Mr Jammeh has said he is going nowhere until then even though his mandate ends on January 18th.