(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.
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.
Hopefully, Jahmme would be able to get the parliament to amend the constitution before the 19th of January. If that could be done, then the Barrow’s inauguration would have been constitutionally block without any cause for foreign military intervention.
It would be treason to enact any law that subverts the will of the people as stipulated in the constitution. Also an act of parliament has to meet certain conditions before it can become law. Anyway good luck to him getting that done. Although it wont make an iota of difference to the resolve of Gambians to swear in Mr. Barrow on the 19th January 2017.
…And gambia left in the hands of a revengefull psychopath…that sounds like a great plan!!
My friend, you are smoking some really good weed. Where can I get some of that for myself!
I remember many years ago the United States was having big problems with the Russians illegally fishing in the territorial waters of the state of Alaska. The US moved one of its nuclear aircraft carriers up to Alaska. That was all it took. No more problems with the Russians stealing fish.
Surely there must be a US aircraft carrier within a couple of days of Gambia. They need to anchor it just off the coast of Gambia so that Yahya can see it from the Presidential Palace. They would not need to anything other than that. Yahya would shit himself!
Parliament don’t go to Banjul to extend mandate. It will not change anything. I think is a decoy to have all of you in one place, which is not safe. The Ecowas forces are coming and you might be trapped in Banjul with no way to escape.
The guilty are always afraid, why all this fuss? Jammeh’s lucky days are already behind him and attempts to prolong or retrieve power after the expiry of his legal mandate via the back door is just an exercise in futility. Using the tyranny of numbers in parliament to validate his wishes is a gross misuse of power and no solution either. He better be advised accordingly that the Gambians have rejected him point-blank. Conceeding defeat does not interprete cowardice.
A complete laughter, when I hear JAMMEH says that his majority block in parliament will amend the constitution. This is the type of person we consider to be president in such a God’s loving peaceful Nation. One who does not even know the constitution. If constitutions were amended like that no president could possibly leave power. We can only legally amend constitution through referendums point, anything less than that should carry different title but not amendment.
Mr Jammeh I once told you that, you don’t have friends because a friend will tell you the truth even if it hurts. If the national assembly try to back you, then they are not your friends. But instead if they go against your wishes, then believe me call them your friends, cos. They tell you the truth and it hurts. If you remembered a young man told you such in Kuloro village in 2004. It’s me again. Friends are ones who disagree when you’re wrong and agree when you’re right.