By Omar Bah
The newly regazetted draft constitution has generated huge debate, deeply dividing opinion, especially on areas perceived to be added or omitted from the original one defeated at the National Assembly in 2020.
The government said the draft reflects The Gambia’s national values and ethos, and is consistent with its existence as a sovereign independent republican state premised on democratic principles. However, the draft has been greeted with renewed controversy.
In the pursuit of an immediate reaction from the public and stakeholders, The Standard first contacted opposition politicians who have asked for time to review the draft.
However, civil society, lawyers, activists and numerous ordinary citizens have responded to the development.
US-based human rights activist, Pa Samba Jow, a familiar voice on the matter, told The Standard yesterday:
“After wasting Gambia’s time, and enormous resources for four years, it is good that President Barrow and his government have decided to re-gazette the draft constitution with omissions. It is quite telling that Barrow and his Cabinet decided to selfishly omit clauses that they did not like. This begs the question, are they interested in a constitution that benefits the general public, or one that satisfies Barrow’s needs?”
Jow added that the consolation is that only the NAMs can legislate “this to meet the needs of the people, and I hope that NAMs, particularly members of the NPP, will be guided by conscience, and not sycophancy in their deliberations”.
He said the Gambian people, on the other hand, must remain resolute in making sure that the bill that comes out of the Assembly can stand the test of time. “I am disappointed, but not surprised by the Cabinet’s decision to omit the retroactive clause on the President’s term. This is both selfish and against everything we fought for. The secular issue is also quite troubling. I hope that minority rights will be safeguarded to ensure their unfettered freedom,” he stated.
Political commentator Sait Matty Jow, said: “It is a welcome development. I have not looked at the whole draft constitution so it is too early to make conclusion but it is important to let people know that constitutional making has to do with a lot of processes. Given the fact that the initial attempt failed, restarting the process is going to be controversial but the fact that it is going to the Assembly should be an opportunity for all of us as a country to have a say because basically that is the place where it should be discussed. So even before talking about a referendum, we should be concerned about whether it would survive the Assembly and I think this is where citizens need to focus on and make sure that the mistakes that we made before are not repeated.”
Sait added: “We were expecting that there will be public consultation before the draft is taken to the National Assembly on what changes need to be made because obviously these changes were expected because the initial draft was rejected. So collectively, people were not happy and I think for any new attempt, there should have been consultations. But all is not lost; we can all take advantage of the moments and consult to ensure we have a constitution that is fit for purpose”.
Salieu Taal, a lawyer and former president of the Gambia Bar Association, said: “I welcome the introduction and gazetting of a new constitution to replace the 1997 constitution as this is in line with the aspirations and expectations of Gambians since the change of government in 2017. The 2024 gazetted bill is based on the Bill that was rejected in 2020 with some changes introduced by the Executive without any form of public or stakeholder consultation. I am asking the Executive to share with the public the changes they have introduced as a starting point for a public discourse on the gazetted draft.’’
