By By Sanna Badjie, MA European studies
Email: badjiesanna1@gmail.com
The Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia (promulgation bill), 2024: a betrayal of the sovereign Gambians, an erosion of fundamental democratic checks and principles, deserves nothing but outright rejection by the National Assembly.
If one reads and made a thorough scrutiny and analysis of the 2024 Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia (Promulgation Bill) 2024 , which sought to repeal the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia, the person would undoubtedly agree with senior comrade Madi Jobarteh’s earlier description of the ‘cabinet’s modified constitution’ as ‘Barrow’s pieces of paper” or senior comrade Demba Ali Jawo’s description, ‘Dawda Jallow’s constitution.’ H.E Barrow and Hon. Jallow and their cabinet colleagues will be remembered for presiding over the doctoring of the widely consulted 2020 Draft Constitution and producing one of the most mediocre constitutions in the history of state and constitutional building.
The 2024 Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia (promulgation bill) , in simple terms, swept aside all the fundamental democratic checks on the executive and other important democratic institutions, such as the Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission and the National Assembly, provided by the 2020 Draft Constitution. This is seemingly designed not only to make the executive the so-called ‘leviathan’ but also to accommodate their political friends in the cabinet and the Assembly, who, by the 2020 Draft Constitution, would not be qualified to either be nominated or appointed in terms of procedural and academic qualification matters, thereby advancing mediocrity over meritocracy and wishes and aspirations of sovereign Gambia.
It is important to remind ourselves as a society that modern constitution design and development is always informed by preceding actions of self-perpetuating regimes that mostly weaken state democratic and oversight institutions to give themselves sweeping executive powers in order to perpetuate themselves in power, violate citizens’ rights with impunity, and mismanage public funds. Efforts to address this narrative in the Gambia fail thanks to H.E Barrow, Hon. Jallow, and their cabinet colleagues.
As highlighted by International IDEA (2011), African nations have recently experienced constitutional building due to military insurgencies and conflict, as seen by Angola, Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, and Uganda. Narrative content has propelled the constitutional process toward democratization in Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
However, like Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya, Gambia’sconstitutional building was propelled by narrative content. In reaction to this, Constitutional Review Commission in consultation with Gambians both at home and in the diaspora designed a constitutional framework to prevent dubious activities of some state officials by strengthening and protecting public agencies, put appropriate checks and balances in the governance system and in addition empowered all the constituents of the society such as youth, women the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
The Commission by far adhered to its statutory established functions and delivered not a perfect Draft Constitution, but a well-designed Constitution that is not only people-oriented but also takes into account the views of the people through a democratic and transparent process.
However, this collective national endeavor that cost the state over 116 million dalasi plus was betrayed by H. E Barrow, Hon. Jallow and their cabinets collogues to serve their short political interests and gave deaf ears and blind eyes to the views and aspirations of Gambia citizens. Evidence of this betrayal startedin 2020 on the cabinet’s strange reactions towards the 2020 Draft Constitution widely published by the media. This included, that the 2020 Draft Constitution limits the powers of the president and discriminates against the person of President Adama Barrow; citing Scheduled 4 S.5 (.2) of The Draft among other strange reactions. This betrayal continued to the so-called ‘government NAMs’ who on Tuesday of 22nd September 2020passionately but without “reason’ and consideration of supreme interest of Gambians, stroke the 2020 Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia (Promulgation Bill) out of the National Assembly’s Chambers.
These ‘Government NAMs’ and Attorney General and Minister for Justice Dawada Jallow who failed to support the 2020 in parliament in second reading in 2020 but rather “help explain the technical legal issues in the Draft” to the NAMs “to make their own decision” like he was hired for a legal consultancy inparliament are now chief advocates of passing this executive centered 2024 Constitution (P THromulgation Bill). Gambiansshould never fall on the propaganda of the executive and ‘government NAMs’ but examines few interesting changesmade by Barrow’s administration without consultation and will be convinced that indeed the 2024 Constitution (promulgation bill) betrayed the sovereignty of Gambians, eroded thefundamental democratic checks and principles and therefore deserves nothing but outright rejection by the National Assembly.
1. Recall of nominated members by the president. H.E Barrow, Hon. Jallow and their cabinet colleagues without any consultation with Gambians by section 133 (2) of the 2024 Draft Constitution gave powers to the president to be able recall nominated members of the National Assembly, as it reads ‘The President may recall a nominated member in the National Assembly before the expiry of the term of the Assembly.” This provision does not only violates the important checks and balances over the organs of governments that serves as fundamental pillar of a consolidated and sustained democracy, but also an attempt to legitimatize Barrow’s administration’s constitutional blunder of removing a nominated member of parliament in 2019 which was corrected through a judicial review by the Supreme Court.
Parliamentary recall are powers given to electorate and must be only exercised by them. Barrow and his cabinet should never equate the powers of sovereign citizens to their own power because in simple sense powers and legitimacy of the state institution are driven from the people. This attempt by HE. Barrow and Hon. Jallow and their cabinet colleagues to give themselves the powers to terminates a nominated members of the assembly further manifest that cabinet doctoring of the 2024 was nothing but short self-perpetuating interest.
However, it is important for Gambians to admonished ofthe Supreme Court ruling in the case of Yakumba Jaiteh v Clerk of the National Assembly and ords (SC.NO 001/2019) that “to assert that nominated members once appointed, hold office at the pleasure of some person or authority would be a gross violation of both the letter and sprit of the constitution and undermine the Independence of such members”
2. Appointment and qualification of ministers. H.E Barrow, Hon. Jallow and their cabinet colleagues without consultation with sovereign Gambians decided to distorted section 111(2) of 2020 Draft constitution which subject presidential appointment of minister to the confirmation of the National Assembly contrary to the norms of democratic scrutiny of ministers who in effect are the drivers and custodians of our ministerial policies.
To make matters worse, H.E Barrow and Hon. Jallow, and their cabinet colleagues without consulting Gambians who are the depository of state sovereignty, decided to change section 116(b) of the 2020 Draft Constitution which raised the qualification of ministers to be at tertiary education level and lowered it down to senior secondary level by section 106(b) of the 2024 Draft Constitution seeminglydesigned to accommodate some cabinet members who may fall short of this qualifications. This beg the question, arewe building a constitution and reconstructing a state for Barrow and his administration or for the Gambians andgenerations Gambia to come?
3. Removal of checks on presidential nomination of Members of the Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission. Another strange changes of the most important democratic institution is directed to the Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission. H. EBarrow, Hon. Jallow and his cabinet colleagues withoutconsultation with sovereign Gambians changed Section 81 (3) of the 2020 Draft Constitution that subject the Presidential appointment of Chairman and members of IBEC to parliament scrutiny and accorded this appointment only to the president in inconsultaion with the Judicial Service and Public Service Commissions.
In essence and as highlights, this most basic checks and fundamental democratic plus a lot more which are not discusses in this article shows the betrayal of the Barrow’s administration to Gambia and fell short of constitutional building procedures. The facts that only this changes were made without consultation makes it worse.
The 2020 will all it shortcoming is well-designed Constitution that is not only people-oriented but also takes into account the views of the people through the process of participatory democracy as per section 6 (2) of the CRC act.
Parliament should therefore outrightly reject this cabinet self-serving Bill and allow the 2020 Draft to be in ‘COMA” until we have a government that put conscience and national interest first over short political interest of the elites to continue our genuine constitutional building process.