Promise Tracker: Is President Barrow on Track with his Constitutional Referendum Promise

President Adama Barrow (l) and Justice Minister Dawda Jallow (r)

By Edward Francis Dalliah

The government of President Adama Barrow came into power promising constitutional change since 2016. After spending over D120 Million on the 2020 Draft Constitution prepared by the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), parliamentarians who were aligned with the executive at the time, rejected the Draft Constitution in September 2020.

Eight years after the change in government, President Barrow continues to promise a constitutional referendum in December 2024. Now with seven months of the year elapsed, this publication assesses if the President is on track with his promise of a constitutional referendum in December 2024.

Promises of a New Constitution

In his 2024 New Year speech delivered in December 2023, President Barrow revealed that his government plans to “hold a referendum on the new Constitution for the Third Republic” in 2024.

Five months later, on 29th May, 2024 the Minister of Justice, Hon Dawda Jallow addressed National Assembly members and Gambians from the diaspora announcing an update on the Draft Constitution. According to the Justice Minister, the government, “are hoping to gazette the Draft Constitution once again somewhere before middle of June”, after which he stated that the Draft Constitution will be introduced in the Third Ordinary Session of the year 2024 for parliamentary approval.

Speaking to Parliamentarians a month later, in June 2024, President Barrow said in a state of the nation address that “Our efforts include introducing a new Constitution, and we remain committed to pursuing it this year. It is hoped that a referendum on the new constitution will be held in December 2024.”

Is the Government on Track?

To verify if the government is on track with a constitutional referendum this year, our reporter scrutinised the progress made so far and the required constitutional procedures for a referendum to be held.

According to Section 226(4) of the 1997 Constitution, bills which aim to amend entrenched clauses must go through the normal parliamentary procedures and cannot be fast-tracked via a certificate of urgency from the President. This means that the first time-bound challenge is the gazetting period of 100 days [3 months and 10 days] as specified in Section 226 (2) (a) of the 1997 Constitution.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Information, the Draft Constitution was gazetted on 14th August, 2024 which means that the gazetting period should conclude on 24th November, 2024. This will coincide with the middle of the Fourth [and last] Ordinary Session of the year 2024.

Standing Orders 62 to 79 of the Gambia’s National Assembly outlines the stages a Bill goes through in Parliament before it is adopted as depicted in the graphic below.

According to a parliamentary legal expert,  Standing Order 66 stipulates the different stages Bill goes through before it is passed as law. The  three stages are the First Reading [done in a day], the Second Reading [took two days for the 2020 Draft], the Committee Stage, the Consideration Stage and then the Third Reading where the Bill is passed or rejected.

Normal parliamentary procedures require for bills as significant as the Draft Constitution to be forwarded to a Committee by the Assembly Business Committee which will take at least two Ordinary Sessions for approval.

In the event  the bill is approved by a ¾  (75%) votes of  parliament, section 226 (4)(c) of the 1997 Constitution requires the Speaker to refer the bill  to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to organize  a referendum. Upon receiving the reference from the Speaker, Section 226 (4)(c) of the 1997 Constitution gives the IEC six months to hold a referendum on the Draft Constitution.

Below is a timeline which shows the government’s progress so far and the route to a referendum on the Draft Constitution.

Infographic on Timeline of the Route to the a Referendum on the Draft Constitution (c) Edward F. Dalliah

As shown by our timeline of events which has already occurred, the 100 days gazetting period, the parliamentary approval process, and the IEC’s six-month period for a referendum, it is impossible for a constitutional referendum to take place in December 2024.

Therefore, President Adama Barrow’s government is certainly not on track for a referendum to take place in December 2024.

This article was first published on the the FactCheckGambia website in the link below. https://factcheckgambia.org/explainer-why-president-barrow-is-not-on-track-to-deliver-a-new-constitution-in-december-2024/

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