Editing Yahya Jammeh

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Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh, better known as Yahya Jammeh (born May 25, 1965) is a Gambian military and politician. He was President of the Republic of the Gambia from July 22, 1994, to January 18, 2017. During his long and controversial term, he was accused of numerous human rights violations, restricting press freedom, and violently repressing to the LGBT community.

On January 19 and 20, 2017, he served as "de facto" president, refusing to cede power to the new president, Adama Barrow, who had defeated him in the 2016 presidential elections, who had to take office in exile. After hours of negotiation and in the face of international pressure and the threat of a military intervention to evict him by ECOWAS, he announced his decision to step down from power in a statement released on January 21. That same day at night he left the Gambia to go into exile to Equatorial Guinea via Guinea.

== Biography ==
Jammeh was born on May 25, 1965, in the city of Kanilai, on the border with Senegal, just a couple of months after his country's independence, in February. He joined the Gambian National Army at the age of 19, in 1984, and was appointed Second Lieutenant in 1989.3 He became commander of the Yundum Barracks Military Police in August 1992.4 Jammeh received extensive military training in the neighboring country, Senegal, 5, and trained for military police at Fort McClellan, Alabama.6 He studied at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.

=== 1994 coup in the Gambia ===
On July 22, 1994, Lieutenant Jammeh, with a group of young officers from the Gambian National Army, carried out a bloodless coup against Dawda Jawara, who had ruled the country democratically since independence. The coup was quickly completed after the coup plotters took control of several important points in the capital, Banjul.7 The coup was met with little resistance, and Jawara went into exile in Senegal.7 The coup group identified itself to himself as the Provisional Council of Government of the Armed Forces (AFPRC), and appointed Jammeh, aged twenty-nine, as interim head of state.

Upon coming to power, the AFPRC suspended the constitution, sealed the borders, and implemented a curfew. While the new Jammeh government justified the coup by discrediting the corruption and lack of democracy under the Jawara regime, the truth was that military personnel were also dissatisfied with their salaries, living conditions, and prospects for promotion.7 Following the coup, political activity was severely restricted, and virtually all political parties were momentarily suppressed.8 The coup was met with surprise on the international scene, and most European countries canceled their economic aid to the Gambia.9

In 1996, Jammeh announced the return to a civilian government, following the drafting of a new constitution.8 Despite the promise of a multiparty regime, in practice most of the powers were handed over to the President, who had a number of unlimited terms.8 The constitution was approved by a referendum with 70.36% of the votes.8 The presidential elections were held in September of that same year.8 Although he did not initially intend to participate, Jammeh finally he did so, founding his political party, the Alliance for Reorientation and Patriotic Construction, resigned his military rank, and was the winner with 55.77% of the votes.10 The electoral process was contested by the opposition and occurred without presence of observers from the Commonwealth of Nations and the African Union who refused to participate in the process.

=== President of the Republic of the Gambia: 1996 - 2017 ===


Jammeh was re-elected on October 18, 2001 with approximately 53% of the vote, these elections being generally considered free by international observers, except for a few specific events.13 Jammeh expelled a UK diplomat from the country who had attended a meeting of the opposition parties.14 He ran again as his party's candidate in 2006, winning again with 67.3% of the votes, in a 58% participation of the electorate. His main opponent, Ousainou Darboe, accused him of intimidating voters.

His last electoral victory was in 2011. Before the elections, Jammeh had claimed that "Peace and stability should never be endangered on the altar of so-called democracy", 16 and stated that "there is no way in which I may lose, unless all the people in The Gambia have gone crazy, "and stated that repressed journalists represented only 1% of the population, and that they could not speak for

=== Rape Allegations ===