By Tabora Bojang
Justice minister Dawda Jallow has said the government has no plans to alter any constituency boundaries for the upcoming 2021 election, saying the current 53 electoral constituencies will remain intact.
Controversy surrounds the electoral amendment bill following its first reading in parliament Monday as it reportedly outlined new proposals to demarcate and annul several constituencies.
It states that Bundungka Kunda, Jeshwang, Latrikunda Sabiji, Serrekunda West, Kombo East and Kombo South shall be demarcated into two constituencies, while Busumbala, Old Yundum and Sannementereng will constitute a single constituency under Kombo North and the Tumana constituency to be scrapped.
But speaking to journalists at the National Assembly yesterday, the Justice Minister explained that the constituency boundaries in the bill tabled in parliament was a “wrong version.”
“We have realised that a particular staff that was working on the bill lifted the old schedule from the old bill and attached it to the new bill without consulting the IEC to obtain the most updated schedule. There is no decision on the side of government to alter any constituency boundary. That decision has never been taken. The government has no interest in changing the constituency boundary. In fact, that is not the mandate of the government,” the minister said.
“It is the constituency boundary commission or the IEC that can change the boundaries. It is an error and humans do make errors and the error has being rectified. The current 53 constituencies will remain,” Minister Jallow clarified.
