Justice Minister Jallow: “The Constitution Should be in Place Sometime in 2025, if…”
Justice Minister Hon Dawda A Jallow at 2024 Draft Constitution Press Conference (c) Askanwi
By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT
According to The Gambia’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Hon Dawda A Jallow, a new “Constitution should be in place sometime in 2025 if it sails through all the processes”.
Minister Jallow made this revelation at a press conference on the 2024 Draft Constitution on 28th August 2024. This was after Askanwi published a Promise Tracker on President Adama Barrow’s promise for a referendum on the Draft Constitution in December 2024. The President made this promise during his 2024 State of the Nation Address in June 2024 with half of the year already expired.
Here is the question and answer on the Minister of Justice’s promise back in May 2024 to Gazette the Draft Constitution in Mid June together with the President’s promise for a Referendum.
Minister of Justice responds to questions on Referendum on 2024 Draft Constitution
Question by Askanwi Journalist: You promised back in May that you would be Gazetting the Draft Constitution in Mid-June, well the words you used was hope, to be fair to you right? And that might have allowed [the Draft Constitution] to come. But now you Gazetted in Mid-August 14th which means the 100 days ends on 24th November if am to count the numbers right. That means the promises of the President of a Draft Constitution in 2024 is impossible. Your response to that sir?
Response by Minister of Justice Hon Dawda A Jallow: Yes, this is Government. Government’s everywhere, we make commitments, we make promises but sometimes the realities don’t help you to realize your timeline. So, we regret that we are not meeting our timelines but we are committed. Everything being ok the Constitution should be in place sometime in 2025, if it sails through all the processes.
A new constitution remains one of the key promises of the government of President Adama Barrow since winning his first term in late 2016. Since the Coalition 2016 took over from former President Yahya Jammeh, the Constitutional Review Commission was enacted which prepared the 2020 Draft Constitution.
Parliamentarians of the 5th Legislature rejected the 2020 Draft Constitution back in September 2020 and since then the government has been making efforts to reintroduce the Draft Constitution in Parliament. Now it appears that Parliament will be able to consider the Bill for its first reading in late November 2024.
To bring some clarity around the processes required for a new Constitution Askanwi has published this infographic outlining the processes completed and the next steps forward for a new Constitution.
#PromiseTracking #DraftConstitution #Referendum #2024DraftConstitution
