The Coalition of Progressive Gambians (CoPG), a registered pressure group on Thursday descended down the street to protest the delay in passing the CRC 2020 draft constitution in its undiluted form.
The protest began at the Bond Road Junction and ended at theNational Assembly gate with the delivery of a petition to National Assembly deputy speaker Seedy S.K Njie.
The protesters were holding banners and chanting slogans, demanding for the immediate passage of the original CRC draft, implementation of the TRRC recommendations, wero-tolerance to corruption and injustice.
Before delivering the petition to the deputy House speaker, Celestine Kujabi, the Secretary General of CoPG said all Gambians should enjoy equal rights and opportunities with diversity, inclusion, tolerance and social justice.
“Our mission in this is to stand up and ensure power is given to the people to enjoy their rights, exercise them with fairness and discipline,” he stated.
According to him, the objective of the CoPG is to create an environment in which the voiceless and the voiced are equally respected.
“We are calling for unity as strength in fighting corruption and injustice together and putting The Gambia first with power to the people. This protest is to demonstrate our discontent in the Amended Draft 2024 as seen in the gazette. We are calling for the re-tabling of the Draft 2020 produced by the then mandated Constitutional Review Commission,” he emphasized.
“The 2020 Draft should be amended in the parliamentary reading stages if needed in a manner that is based on compromise and consensus and in the best interest of a progressive Gambia. The Draft Constitution was written by an independent commission established by an Act of parliament in 2017 and in compliance with the 1997 Constitution, section 226,” he outlined.
He went on to say that the Coalition of Progressive Gambians and other stakeholders are present to raise their concerns and demand an immediate consideration to the concerns of most Gambians.
“At these trying times, more than 70% of Gambians believe a new constitution is the primary step forward moreover the CoPG is convinced that the 2020 Draft Constitution is the constitution we want,” argued Kujabi.
Kujabi described constitution as the voice of the people and set of principles that governs with integrity and protects national sovereignty.
“We are disappointed with the unconstitutional move by the Executive and the Minister of Justice, who amended and omitted some of the provisions and entrenched clauses of the 2020 Draft,” he decried.
He opined that the 2020 Draft Constitution, a document regarded as sacred, is the proposal of Gambians after a thorough consultation both home and abroad, saying it needs to be given the chance to undergo through rigorous processesat the National Assembly.
“We expected its consideration and adoption led by the pro-government parliamentarians supported by opposing members of Parliament or they send it back to the people to decide in a referendum and not by a few political actors,” stated Kujabi.
