Gambian legislators reject Constitution Bill
Banjul, Gambia (PANA) – Gambian parliament on Tuesday rejected the “Promulgation Bill 2020” on the country’s draft constitution after it was put to vote ahead of the expected referendum slated in January 2021.
When the bill was put to vote following a heated debate, 31 parliamentarians voted in favour with a “yes” vote while 23 members voted “No” leading to the rejection of the bill and dropping of the draft constitution at second reading stage.
The bill needed at least a two-thirds majority of the seats in the National Assembly before it could reach the third-reading.
That meant it required at least 44 “yes votes” from the 57 Gambian MPs in the House before the bill could move to the third-reading ahead of the referendum.
Gambia’s National Assembly has 53 elected members with five being nominated by the President, bringing the total number of 58.
Out of the 53 elected members, one died in January 2020 and his seat remains vacant.
Gambia’s Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), the body mandated to draft the national supreme law, submitted the document to President Adama Barrow a few months ago for onward transmission to the legislators.
This followed a series of consultations with Gambians at home and abroad as to how they wished to be governed.
The CRC said it was gratifying to note that a lot of effort was invested by Gambians from all walks of life to ensure that it produced a constitution that would stand the test of time and become a model in Africa.
Meanwhile, the draft constitution spells out two five-year terms for the president. If the term-limit clause survives any changes, it will be a welcome development for a majority of Gambians who hold the view that the 22-year-long dictatorship of the recent past was possible due to lack of term limit for the president in the 1997 constitution.
A section of the constitution dealing with the integrity of the presidency states that the President shall within three months of assuming office, disclose to the Anti-corruption Commission all liabilities and business interests he or she has or that is held on his or her behalf.
Similarly, all the assets, liabilities and business interests of the presidential spouse held by or on behalf of the spouse shall be disclosed to the anti-corruption commission within three months of leaving office.
The drafting process was preceded by a series of consultations, meetings, surveys and research exercises.
As part of the national consultations, some 106 meetings were held across different communities within the seven administrative areas of The Gambia.
External consultations were also held in several cities abroad where there are high concentrations of Gambians.
-0- PANA MLJ/AR 23Sept2019
