By: Kemo Kanyi
The Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Ismaila Ceesay, has maintained that the re-introduction to the National Assembly of the crashed 2020 draft constitution will be a futile attempt at ushering in a new constitution.
Mr. Ceesay argued that bringing back the rejected 2020 draft constitution to the House would not make any sense, saying there is no point in reinventing the wheel as, according to him, the draft was jettisoned by the Parliament.
Despite The Gambia yearning for a new constitution to reap the full benefits of democracy, the opposition and the ruling party have yet to find a common ground as they continue to be deeply divided on which document to settle on.
The UDP leader Hon. Lawyer Ousainou Darboe recently met with President Adama Barrow as efforts were being upscaled by the International IDEA to help deliver a new constitution for the country but the talks ended in a deadlock.
Reacting to the suggestion that the talks between the UDP leader and Mr. Barrow should have centred on the 2020 CRC draft rather than the 2024 draft, Ismaila Ceesay contended that the 2020 draft was rejected by the lawmakers and that it will make no sense to return it to the National Assembly.
“This was taken to Parliament—it was thrown out. You cannot take the same document back to Parliament. It doesn’t make sense. Now, we as government based on His Excellency’s vision and foresight, took the lead in amending some parts of that constitution based on consultations that took place in Abuja and Banjul. Based on the outcome of those consultations, is what we use to make amendments on the 2020 draft and that is what we have taken to parliament. There was no new constitution made,” Ceesay told Coffee Time With Peter Gomez on Tuesday.
He commended the participation of the UDP’s leader in the discussions, describing him [Darboe] as a “patriot”, who wouldn’t want to derail an important national cause.