By: Nyima Sillah
Top GAP official Babucarr Bayo has urged the government of The Gambia not to allow political ambition to stand in the way of a new constitution.
Despite the crash of the draft new constitution almost five years ago, there has been a sustained campaign by the opposition, civil society and some NGOs for the revival of the document, whose building process consumed D116M of taxpayers’ money.
The Gambia government has hinted that it would revive the draft but some opposition figures were weary that the government was planning to present a watered-down version of the document to the Gambia people as important provisions on presidential term limit, appointment of ministers among others could not find appeal with the Barrow administration.
However, the opposition is still calling on the administration to bring back the draft without tinkering.
“I encourage the government to maintain the original spirit of the draft constitution and ensure that political ambitions do not divert its intended purpose. The draft constitution holds immense promise for The Gambia. If delivered as intended, it can become a cornerstone for theattainment of the development aspirations of ournew democracy,” Bayo told The Voice in an interview on Tuesday.
He underscored that the draft constitution is relevant to the future of The Gambian as it represents Gambians’ hopes and aspirations for a democratic and prosperous nation.
“Millions of Dalasi were spent on drafting a new legal framework,” he pointed out.
He bemoaned that despite the “mega”investment of resources into ushering in a new constitution, political differences continued tocloud the minds of elected NAMs bent onnullifying the efforts in ushering in a new constitution.
“The Gambian people still deserve the right to be allowed to, at least, vote for the constitution in a referendum to determine the power of the people,” Bayo, who is the GAP deputy leader, suggested.
He argued that the 1997 Constitution continues to defeat the purpose of reforming the institutional fabric for consolidating the overall socio-economic development, adding that building democracy under the present laws will continue to characterize the principles of democracy in a fragile democratic context.
“It was refreshing to hear President AdamaBarrow promising to deliver a referendum on the draft constitution by December 2024 during his State of the Nation address. As opposition,we understood the importance of assuring the Gambian people high hopes in the promulgation of a new constitution, which will seek to address[the problem of] the [repeal of] long-awaited draconian laws in 1997 Constitution,” Bayopointed out.
He called on all stakeholders to participate in the constitutional rejuvenation process of the draft constitution forthwith by legitimizing it to ensure it becomes the legal framework to guarantee the aims and aspirations of the Gambian people.