President repeals ban on opposition

President Yahya Jammeh announced on Sunday the lifting of a decree preventing some politicians from standing for election, news organizations reported. “Former politicians are now free to come back and form parties. The decree that made people seek political asylum abroad is now history,” PANA reported Jammeh as saying at a ceremony marking the seventh anniversary of the military takeover that brought him to power. He also told the gathering in the capital, Banjul, that anyone attempting to destabilise the country would not have the chance to regret their actions as they would be “six feet under”. Jammeh has been under increasing pressure from opposition politicians reminding him of his promise to the Commonwealth and the international community to repeal the decree before October’s presidential polls. Decree 89 was imposed in 1994 after Jammeh ousted president Dawda Jawara in a coup.