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Gambian lawmakers on Monday rejected a draft constitution designed to strengthen the West African nation’s democracy after years of dictatorship.
Opposition leaders cited the document’s failure to include crucial stakeholders as a key reason for its defeat.
The proposed constitution, intended to replace the 1997 charter that facilitated former dictator Yahya Jammeh’s consolidation of power, failed to secure the necessary three-quarters majority in the single-chamber National Assembly, with only 35 of 56 members voting in favour.
Justice Minister Dawda Jallow had urged lawmakers to support the bill, envisioning a “stronger, more democratic republic.”
History of Rejection and Controversial Clauses
This is not the first time efforts to reform the Gambian constitution have stalled. The Constitutional Review Commission initially published a draft in November 2019, but it was rejected in 2020 by lawmakers allied with the current President Adama Barrow.
The sticking point then was a retroactive clause that would have imposed two-term presidential limits.
The government’s second draft, rejected on Monday, removed this retroactive clause. Had it passed, President Barrow, in power since 2017, would have been eligible to serve two more terms after the new constitution’s enactment.
It would also have required a national referendum to become law. Opposition lawmakers criticised the drafters for not incorporating the viewpoints of various groups, including political parties and civil society organisations.
Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule, which ended in 2017 when he fled to Equatorial Guinea after losing an election to Barrow, was marked by widespread human rights abuses and the misuse of state funds for his benefit.
