Gambia: Kiang West NAM Faults Barrow's Commitment to Draft Constitution

13 June 2023
The Point (Banjul)
By Jankey Touray

The National Assembly Member (NAM) for Kiang West Constituency, Hon. Lamin Ceesay, has stated that there has been no sign of commitment by President Adama Barrow in bringing the draft constitution to the Assembly.

Speaking during a debate on the President's State of the Nation's address, Hon. Ceesay said: "We have not seen any commitment by the president in bringing the draft constitution back. If the president is committed, then the draft constitution would have been here by now."

"We have no hope that the draft constitution will be back, and if it comes near the next election, we are not going to accept it, let the draft constitution be brought back now," he stressed.

According to Hon. Ceesay, during the 2022 State of the Nation's Address, President Barrow mentioned that "the Constitution remains a top priority" for his government and "is determined to oversee the crafting of a new Constitution for The Gambia."

"To do this, the President tasked the Ministry of Justice [to] resume work towards tabling a draft Constitution before this August Assembly, and yet it is not brought back," he flagged.

Going through the President's address, he stated that more work is still needed before the revised Constitution is tabled in the Parliament. "This suggests that the Constitution may not be tabled in Parliament in 2023. President Barrow noted that the Legal and Judiciary Sector "is working on the Constitutional Review Process. The process is guided by relevant legal and legislative considerations as well as our national interests. For now, it is essential to determine the necessary legislative amendments to support the next phase of the review process."

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