Opposition leader Ousainu Darboe clarified his State House meeting agenda with President Adama Barrow by denying plans to support any draft constitution besides the 2020 version.
The political discussions gained momentum because of his State House visit that led people to wonder if he planned to make changes to the stalled constitutional reform efforts.
The 2020 draft constitution remains of top priority for Ousainu Darboe after he discussed it with citizens and political stakeholders during the public consultation process.
He maintains his original stance regarding draft constitution support thus continuing his efforts to get the former rejected version of the draft approved by the National Assembly.
He refused to consider an alternative constitution when speaking to President Barrow and their talks did not focus on creating a new constitutional framework.
The CRC spent two years collecting feedback about the constitution during their nationwide consultations that included Gambians living within the country and abroad.
The draft was created to replace the existing 1997 constitution through provisions that established democratic changes including presidential term restrictions and enhanced executive branch oversight.
The lawmakers rejected the document in September 2020 because they believed it would restrict President Barrow from running for another term.
Speculation rose after President Barrow met with Mr Darboe about modifying the draft constitution to please the president’s political needs. The opposition leader declared all such information about constitutional changes to be false.
The new constitution needs to follow democratic principles and reflect the will of the Gambian people according to his beliefs.
The Gambian civil society organizations along with legal experts request the government to resume the 2020 draft proposal because its non-passage has postponed essential legislative changes.
Following Darboe’s statement the political dispute surrounding the draft should find reassurance from his supporters with renewed calls to enact the draft as it was originally proposed.
The Barrow administration needs to take further action regarding constitutional reform in The Gambia according to the opposition stakeholders and other stakeholders.
