By: Nyima Sillah
Since the draft Constitution did not received the majority number of votes at the National Assembly, many people have been discussing and debating the rejection of the “Promulgation Bill 2020” after it was put to vote ahead of the expected referendum slated for January 2021.
Sampling opinion of some Gambians within the West Coast Region and Kanifing Municipality, some have expressed concern over the rejection.
Meanwhile, Tuesday, 22nd September the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dawda A. Jallow tabled the Draft Constitution 2020 before lawmakers for approval before taken further for a referendum.
However, 42 National Assembly members (NAM) suppose to approve the Draft Constitution before it can go through for referendum but the parliament failed to get require votes in favor of the motion as 23 lawmakers voted against the Bill.
Speaking to The Voice yesterday, Ebrima Kanyi, resident of Kanifing said the National Assembly should have not rejected the Draft Constitution. “They should have voted for the Bill and later amend any Sections of the Constitution that they want to change,” he said.
He argued that lots of resources and efforts have been put into the Draft Constitution without any positive return for the country owing to the rejection.
“A lot was spent on the Draft Constitution in 2019 and it’s really sad that the money has gone in vain. I am sure the National Assembly members who voted against the Bill must have regretted their decision by now”, he said.
He added: “Another great mistake the NAMs did was that they did not inform the electorate about their decision of rejecting the Draft Constitution. They should have engaged the people to get their views before coming with such decision. Although they are Gambians like everyone but they should know that they are representatives of the people.”
Yusupha Beyai, native of Serekunda said the parliamentarians should have not rejected the Bill without consulting the public. He said the lawmakers were elected by their respective constituencies to represent them in the house and work for national interest.
Therefore, he said lawmakers should be in the parliament for national interest and not to vote in favour of a particular person.
