By Ousman Saidykhan
The Gambia may have a new Constitution by early 2025. The Draft Constitution, now called The Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia (Promulgation) Bill 2024, received its first reading in Parliament on Monday morning, marking the conclusion of the fourth ordinary session of the 2024 Legislative Year.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dawda A. Jallow, who took the bill to Parliament to witness the first reading, was requested by the speaker to hand the document to the clerk. The clerk read it for the first time, marking the crossing of the first stage of the parliamentary stages a bill goes through.
“Honourable members, the bill has been read for the first time. The next stage of the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia (Promulgation) Bill 2024 will be appointed during the next ordinary session for the person in charge of the bill to move a motion for the second reading in accordance with Order 66 (2) which reads:
“At the conclusion of the proceedings on the first reading, or on any subsequent stage of a bill, the next stage may be taken either forthwith or upon a day to be named, providing that second reading shall be taken no sooner that one working day after the first reading,” read the speaker, Fabakary Tombong Jatta.
The second reading will occur in 2025. In the first quarter of 2025, the Parliament could be the center of attention as Gambians remain divided over the Draft Constitution, which was gazetted on August 14, 2024.
While some people favor the new draft, others still believe it is nowhere comparable to the 2020 Draft, which was rejected at the Second Reading in September 2020. They believe it is a document designed to serve the interest of the President and the people around him.
The Minister of Justice Dawda A. Jallow has insisted that the Government has made several consultations before re-gazetting the Draft Constitution. However, CSOs and some politicians maintained they were not consulted.
Beyond the disagreements over which draft is the best for the country, Gambians apparently want a new Constitution, although not one that falls short of the standards.
Over 100 representatives from the Government, political parties, Non-Governmental Organizations, Faith-Based Organizations, Security Forces, independent national institutions, Gambia Federation of the Disabled women-led groups, academia, the media, and community-based organizations said there is an “overwhelming demand” for a new Constitution that is “consultative and reflective.”
The stakeholders who took part in the National Conference on the Draft Constitution 2024, organized by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) last month, agreed the 1997 Constitution, which has “numerous” amendments, is not the appropriate legal framework to anchor the country’s transition from a “dictatorship to a people-centered democracy.”
The stakeholders have recommended in a communique that the National Assembly adopt a new Constitution that reflects the people’s “wishes and aspirations” and respects and upholds the principles of “constitutionalism.”
