Yahya Jammeh

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Yahya Jammeh

Yahya (Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung) Jammeh (born May 25, 1965) is the President of The Gambia. As chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council, he took control of the country in a military coup in July 1994, and was elected as president two years later, in September 1996, in widely criticized elections.[Background Note: The Gambia], U.S. Department of State, March 2006. He founded the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction as his political party. Jammeh was re-elected on October 18, 2001 with about 53% of the vote; this election was generally deemed free and fair by observers.[Country Report on Human Rights Practices for The Gambia], U.S. Department of State, March 4, 2002.

President Jammeh was formerly named Yahya Alphonse Jemus Jebulai Jammeh.

Jammeh has been accused of restricting freedom of the press; harsh new press laws were followed by the unsolved killing of a reporter who had been critical of them, Deyda Hydara, in December 2004.["Thousands protest peacefully at murder of journalist"], IRIN, December 22, 2004. A coup attempt against Jammeh was reported to have been thwarted on March 21, 2006; Jammeh, who was in Mauritania at the time, quickly returned home. Army chief of staff Ndure Cham, the alleged leader of the plot,["Attempted coup averted, government says"], IRIN, March 22, 2006. reportedly fled to neighboring Senegal, while other alleged conspirators were arrested["Arrests over Gambia 'coup plot'"], BBC.co.uk, March 28, 2006. and have been put on trial for treason. Jammeh intends to run for a third term as president in September 2006; the election was initially planned for October but was moved forward because of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.["Gambia brings polls forward to Sept 22 for Ramadan"], Reuters, June 3, 2006.

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[All Hail His Excellency, President Yahya!]

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