Apparently seeing that he has no hope of surviving an onslaught from the West African troops, led by Nigeria, Yahya Jammeh has pleaded for a four-hour extension from the Friday midday deadline to hand over power, and the request has been granted.
Jammeh, who lost in the December 1 election to Adama Barrow, had initially accepted defeat, only to reverse his decision a week later, claiming that voter fraud had cost him the election.
The West African leaders had given Jammeh until Friday midday to hand over power, and agree to leave The Gambia, or face military action carried out by the regional bloc, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Reuters reported that Jammeh requested for a four-hour extension until 4 p.m. local time to cede government, but it was not clear what Jammeh has planned to do.
However, diplomats said his departure looked increasingly possible, after leaders from Guinea and Mauritania had gone to The Gambia on Friday for talks with Jammeh.
Jammeh started negotiations with ECOWAS on Thursday, and agreed to step down.
He, however, demanded an amnesty for any crimes that he may have committed during his 22 years in power, and that he be permitted to stay in The Gambia, at his home village of Kanilai.
But those demands were not acceptable to ECOWAS, said Marcel Alain de Souza, head ECOWAS.
Jammeh’s continued presence in The Gambia would “create disturbances to public order and terrorist movements”,” he said.
West African troops had entered the country to bolster new President Adama Barrow, who was sworn-in on Thursday.
But military operations were suspended a few hours later in favour of a final diplomatic push to convince Jammeh, who has stubbornly refused to quit, to exit peacefully.
Barrow, in an interview with Al Jazeera, urged Jammeh to leave the country, and hoped that the 15 ECOWAS countries can find him a safe haven.
“We cannot allow Yahya Jammeh to remain in the Gambia, it will make our job difficult. That’s why all our negotiations is he leave Gambia, he can later come back.
“But as of now the political climate doesn’t allow that. I advise him in good faith to give peace a chance. It is about democracy,” Barrow said.
Gambia’s only land border is with Senegal, and the regional coalition, which ECOWAS says involves 7,000 troops, has entered from the South-East, South-West and North.