“United Democratic Party (UDP) has no regret for presenting President Barrow as a presidential candidate despite the party is disappointed”, said lawyer Ousainou Darboe, leader and Secretary General of the UDP.
“You see UDP does not have any regret in presenting Barrow as a candidate in 2016. UDP is only disappointed but has no regret”, he said at press conference on Wednesday.
Gambian parliament on Tuesday rejected the “Promulgation Bill 2020” of the country’s draft constitution after it was put to vote ahead of the expected referendum slated for January 2021.
When the Bill was put to vote following a heated debate, 31 parliamentarians voted in favour with a “yes” 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.
In his reaction, UDP leader Darboe said the implication of the rejection of the draft constitution, means that the country will remain to be guided by the 1997 Constitution ‘until a more serious government comes in and brings back the draft Constitution.’
“That’s the implication and that’s why I said the UDP wants to assure Gambians that in 2022 when the UDP comes in, we will reintroduce this Constitution,” he said.
He pointed out that President Adama Barrow’s ambition for a self-perpetuating rule is what led to the rejection of the bill, saying they could have saved the millions for socio-economic development instead of financing a project that the very system turned to reject it.
“If we are not witnessing the start of the start of a dictatorship, we are certainly witnessing the enthrallment of self-perpetuating rule,” the veteran lawyer stated.
He also said the Gambian leader wants to stay in power for 15 years, stressing that whether he is going to win the 2021 election.”
“He just wants to go for 15 years. Look, he got his people to kill this Bill that cost the Gambian people 116 million dalasi. I think he has a lot to explain to the Gambian people why he has let that amount of money to go into the drain, into the gutters. At least if they did not have faith in the working of the Constitutional Review Commission, they should not have done that and used those monies for our socio-economic development rather than just wasting it because your desires have not been met,” the UDP leader told journalists
He added: “Only three things will prevent me from contesting the 2021 election under any Constitution. One, if I am ill, in fact if I am mentally incapacitated, physically incapacitated and death or the UDP doesn’t select me as their candidate. These are the three that can prevent me.”
He further stressed that whether he is qualified to contest for the presidency under the 1997 Constitution.