In the midst of the chorus of widespread condemnations of the imposition of values and norms alien to Africa under the pretext of human rights, the Gambian leader has made his position clear, denouncing in the strongest term possible terms what he called 'ungodly gay marriages', saying his country has no 'room for gays and lesbians'.

Gambia's six main opposition parties have opted out of the parliamentary elections, alleging unfair treatment by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which has refused to heed their request for a postponement of the polls from 29 March, PANA confirmed. PANA reports that the IEC insisted that the election date will remain as scheduled. In addition, the IEC received nomination forms for candidates for the exercise between 8-10 March and even went ahead to declare 24 candidates from the ruling party 'returned unopposed'. As it is now, only 24 parliamentary seats remain to be contested for.

Gambia has appealed for food aid after it said that 70 percent of its crops failed during the last growing season, extending the reach of a food crisis already hitting millions of people across Africa's Sahel strip. Gambia's agriculture ministry said the impact of poor rains last year had been exacerbated by high world food prices, crippling household incomes in the West African state, which has ridden out previous food crises.

Seven Gambian opposition parties have asked the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to create a level playing field for the 29 March 2012 National Assembly election. The opposition is also urging the IEC to postpone the election for a meeting between them to discuss how to put the right conditions in place for a genuine vote. The demand follows a series meetings of the opposition parties which cited the preamble of the 1997 Constitution that guarantees participatory democracy reflecting the undiluted choice of the people.

The ECOWAS Community Court in Abuja, Nigeria, on 6 February 2012 ordered the Gambian government to comply with its ruling on Musa Saidykahn, a former editor-in-chief of the banned The Independent newspaper, by compensating him for violating his human rights in 2006. On 16 December 2010, the regional court confirmed that Saidykhan was tortured by President Yahya Jammeh's security agents while in detention in 2006. It also ruled that Saidykhan’s arrest and subsequent detention were illegal and violated his right to personal liberty and a fair hearing as guaranteed by Articles 6 and 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. The ECOWAS court, therefore, awarded Saidykhan damages of US$200,000.

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has been sworn in for a fourth term and says he will crack the whip on laziness and corruption as he bids to turn Africa's smallest mainland country into an economic powerhouse. Jammeh, who came to power in a coup in 1994 aged 29, also said his government would not tolerate any terrorist or racist acts. 'I will be more dangerous in the next five years than when I was, even in uniform, because people have to change their attitude to work,' he earlier said on state TV Wednesday, promising that people would see 'a different Yahya Jammeh'.

Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of four activists arrested over the distribution of T-shirts calling for an end to dictatorship in the Gambia. One activist, Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh, the country's former Minister for Information and Communication, was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour for treason. Modou Keita, Ebrima Jallow and Michael Uche Thomas were each sentenced to three years with hard labour for sedition.

Two sons of murdered Gambian journalist Deyda Hydara have filed a suit before the regional court of Ecowas in Abuja, Nigeria, in an effort to seek justice. Ismaila Hydara and Deyda Hydara Jr called for proper investigation into the death of their father who was killed on December 16, 2004. The African Regional Office of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ-Africa) is also an applicant in the case.

Gambia’s opposition coalition, the United Front, has urged President Yahya Jammeh to retract his 'no coup or elections can remove me' from office statement, PANA reported. The coalition, consisting of four opposition parties that supported an independent candidate, Hamat Bah, made the call in a statement issued on the heels of the country’s just-concluded presidential election.

As Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh secures a fourth term as president following the 24 November elections, Alagi Yorro Jallow highlights the country’s lack of both ‘a fair and effective electoral process’ and press freedom.

Gambia's election commission has declared incumbent President Yahya Jammeh winner of elections, paving the way for him to begin a new five-year term in the West African country. Jammeh, who has been in power for 17 years, scored a landslide 72 per cent victory, according to results read out on Friday by Alhagie Mustapha Carayol, the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission. The vote was regionally criticised as it was marred by intimidation of voters and the opposition.

A global human rights body, ‘Front Line’, has urged the Gambian authorities to 'immediately drop all charges' against Dr Isatou Touray and Amie Bojang, two leading rights activists. Dr. Touray and Bojang, Director and Programme Coordinator respectively of The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), are facing charges of 'theft' which they continue to deny. In a statement obtained by PANA, Front Line said the duo’s 'continued prosecution is solely motivated by their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights'.

Four opposition parties in the Gambia have coalesced and named Mr Hamat Bah as their presidential candidate for elections set for later this month. The coalition candidate is the standard bearer of the National Reconciliation Party, a long-time challenger to President Yahya Jammeh, who came to power through a military coup in 1994 and is hoping to remain in power for life.

The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) has challenged the Gambian Government to speak out on the whereabouts of journalist Ebrima Manneh. FAJ President Omar Faruk Osman and his Vice-President Foster Dongozi took Gambia’s Justice minister Edward Gomez to task over his government’s silence regarding the whereabouts of the journalist who disappeared in 2006. In an interview on 10 October with The Daily News, a Gambian newspaper, Mr Gomez had said the missing journalist was alive, without disclosing where he was.

Gambia's opposition will go into the 14 November presidential election as fractured parties after talks to field a single candidate to unseat incumbent Yahya Jammeh failed. President Jammeh, the favourite, has been in power since 1994 when he took power in a coup before holding a civilian election two years later. He has won three subsequent elections since then and will be seeking a fourth five-year term.

Lawyers for a Gambian minister charged with treason have said that his health is at risk as he was being held in a filthy prison cell. Mr Borry Touray told the high court in Banjul that former information and communication minister Amadou Scattred Janneh is confined in a leaking and dirty prison cell that could harm his health.

The ECOWAS Community Court in Abuja, Nigeria, on 26 September adjourned indefinitely its hearing over applications for the review of two landmark judgements brought before by it by Gambian authorities involving two Gambian journalists. The first relates to the illegal arrests and torture of Musa Saidykahn, a former editor-in-chief of the banned The Independent newspaper. In the second case, the Gambian government was ordered to release Chief Ebrima Manneh, a foreign editor of the privately-owned, pro-government the Daily Observer newspaper and compensate him. Costs were awarded against the authorities in both cases.

Educationists from the two sister Ministries of Basic and Secondary Education; and Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology recently stepped up efforts that seek to pave the way forward in achieving a more vibrant higher education policy road map.

Human rights advocates watching Gambia are worried that abuses against perceived dissenters will rise as the November presidential election nears, killing any chance of a free and fair poll. Already the official campaign period - the only time opposition parties are given access to the media and allowed to actively campaign - has been shrunk to 11 days from four weeks, sparking concern among political leaders.

Gambian National Environment Agency, NEA said recently that the country is already facing the worst ramifications of the climate change. NEA’s executive director, Momodou B. Sarr said in Banjul that already climate change impact on agriculture is attributed to 40 per cent drop in groundnut yields due to rising temperatures and the disappearance of freshwater swamps, and soil salinization in lowland areas resulting from sea level rise is likely to impact negatively on rice production and the lives of women farmers in these areas.