By Landing Colley
Human rights lawyer, Assan Martin, has blamed commissioners of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) for being responsible for the failure of the draft constitution.
He said the commission did not understand their mission.
The draft constitution has gone through series of discussions at local and international levels for it to be reintroduced back to the National Assembly after its rejection in 2020. The debate between political parties is for the draft constitution to be acceptable with amendment while others are in support of retailing it without amendment.
“When change happens in 2016 the mandate was constitutional reform and the people who are chosen (CRC) to run this constitutional reform, most of them did not understand the mission. It’s not only about getting people’s opinion but also to work within the line of the constitution that is appeal to the layman to understand the basic laws that govern them in the country. The draft is full of too much of interference which brings us to the stage of limbo,” he told The Voice exclusively.
He added: “This draft unless they work on it properly and do their homework well, change the language, make it a constitutional material so that it can fit for public purpose.”
According to him, a lot of people are yapping about the constitution but they are not aware that the debate started more than seven years ago, that is to see how the constitution will be if Yahya Jammeh’s regime comes to an end.
85% of the 1997 constitution, as legal minded person, Lawyer Martin said will knows that it is intact and things that need to be added is term limit, change some of the provisions that gives the president to do private businesses and amendment of the space of transition of presidency.
Meaning, it is only 15% needs to change in the 1997 constitution and the debate, he stated that it is three things that should matter if the regime change “that is to rewrite the constitution, come with amendments and to work with attendance as it is the large part of the constitution and provision,” he said.