BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after refusing to hand power to opposition leader Adama Barrow, who won an election last month. After his surprise defeat to Adama Barrow, President Jammeh refused to accept the election result and step down. It wasn't immediately clear what the state of emergency entailed, but the move appeared to make a handover of power even more unlikely. That suggests Jammeh will stay in power beyond Thursday, when Barrow was due to be sworn in as president. But Jammeh has defiantly said he won't allow that to happen. State television said the emergency would prevent a power vacuum while the supreme court rules on Jammeh's petition challenging the election result. "Until then, the status quo remains," Jammeh said, calling on Gambians to carry on with their everyday activities. Any court decision could take months, The Associated Press reports. The chief justice has "recused himself and said he could not rule on Jammeh's request for an injunction blocking Barrow's inauguration." International and regional demands have grown for Jammeh to cede power. Regional leaders have threatened to intervene militarily if Jammeh does not step down and on Tuesday a senior Nigerian army source said Nigeria and other West African states were preparing a military force. Barrow is currently in neighboring Senegal for his own protection. And the president-in-waiting experienced a family tragedy on Sunday – his 8-year-old son died in Gambia after sustaining a dog bite, Ofeibea reports. "Our lives are so full of responsibility that we sometimes forget to spend time with those who love us the most," Barrow wrote in a statement on Twitter. "Family is the most precious and sacred gift of all — never leave your family behind." Jammeh initially conceded defeat to Barrow after the election in early December, and it appeared that Gambia was poised to complete its first-ever peaceful transfer of power since independence. But Jammeh dramatically changed his tune a week later, when he claimed that the election result was void because of "irregularities." Troops loyal to him then moved into the electoral commission headquarters after the commission head maintained that Barrow was the winner. Gambia's top judge on Monday declined to rule on Jammeh's election petition and in a political blow to the president, the ministers of finance, foreign affairs, trade and the environment have resigned, according to ministry sources. Hundreds of Gambians have fled into Senegal, Gambia's only neighbor, fearing for their safety because of the turmoil, and Senegalese authorities have increased security.
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh declares a 90-day state of emergency a day before his mandate ends.