Two reforms of great significance have been on the agenda since the Barrow administration took over power in 2017. These are constitutional reform and electoral reform. It is now eight years and there is yet to be light at the end of the tunnel.

The Elections Bill which is now before the National Assembly is simply a Bill at the consideration stage and the Bill is yet to reach the stage of being passed by the National Assembly to enable the president to assent to it if he so desires. Therefore, the existing Elections Act is what can be relied on to conduct registration of voters, elections and referenda.

In a similar vein, The Constitution of The Republic of The Gambia (Promulgation) Bill 2024 is now lingering at the National Assembly after the Attorney General asked for a postponement of the second reading which would allowed National Assembly members to debate not the provisions of the Bill but its principles and merits. If the members voted to support a discussion of content of the Bill, it would have led to the next stage of referral to the appropriate committee, which would have given the public the opportunity to make submissions to the committee.

However, since the postponement, no pronouncement has been made by the Attorney General and no discussions or consultations have been heard of.

Needless to say, it important that the NAMs and the public understand that when the second reading is done the NAMs are supposed to discuss only principles and merits of the Bill, not its content.