Justice Minister Vows to Defend 2024 Draft Constitution in Parliament
Justice Minister Hon Dawda Jallow at first Mansakunda Townhall of 2025 © Askanwi
By Edward Francis Dalliah
As Gambians await a new Constitution, with strong opposition from opposition party leaders and several civil society organisations, Justice Minister Hon. Dawda A. Jallow has pledged to defend the 2024 Draft Constitution in Parliament.
Minister Jallow's commitment came during the first Mansa Kunda Ministerial Town Hall engagement of the year, held on Friday, 10th January 2025. The event, organised by Minister for Information Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, featured a question from Askanwi Editor, Yusef Taylor, who asked whether the Justice Minister would “defend the Draft Constitution in parliament because [he] failed to do so for the 2020 [Draft Constitution].”
In his response, Minister Jallow noted that “this is an opportunity to clear the misconception.” He explained that once a bill is submitted to the National Assembly for its first reading, the process shifts from the executive to the legislative table. “We are there to listen to the issues they raise, and then we respond if they are in a form of a question, or if we need to offer further explanations, we do,” he noted. Going further, the Justice Minister explained that it is his responsibility “to defend [any Bill he submits to parliament] to the extent possible to convince the [members] to support the Bill. That is the responsibility of any minister that sponsors a Bill.”
Known formally as The Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia (Promulgation) Bill 2024, the 2024 Draft Constitution was gazetted on 14th August 2024. After the mandated 100-day gazetting period as per the 1997 Constitution, it was initially scheduled for its first reading on 27th November 2024, with a second reading on 21st December 2024. However, Parliament revised their agenda, rescheduling the first reading to 23rd December 2024 and removing the second reading from the agenda entirely.
In an exclusive interview with Coffee Time host Peter Gomez, leader of the largest opposition party and former Vice President under President Barrow, Lawyer Ousianu Dorboe, stated that his party’s parliamentarians would vote against the 2024 Draft Constitution in its second reading. Similarly, outspoken parliamentarian Hon. Almameh Gibba of Foni Kansala expressed his constituents’ opposition to the 2024 Draft Constitution, saying, “98% of the people I have consulted are not in support of it. They said it is a Barrow book, and they don’t want it.”
However, former Parliamentarian for Serrekunda and leader of the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), Hon. Halifa Sallah, in a press conference on 8th January 2025, urged parliamentarians to take full ownership of the Constitution-building process. He said, “if the maker of the law says that he cannot make the law, then Gambia is in trouble. If the maker of the law is not ready to make the law, then Gambia is in trouble. Then dissolve your legislature and know that it’s not fit for purpose.”
The 2024 Draft Constitution has faced significant criticism from political leaders and civil society advocates, who argue that it was not subject to “any consultation” and is not “fit for purpose”. In anticipation of the bill’s introduction in November, the Coalition of Progressive Gambians organised a protest, marching from Bond Road to Parliament’s first gate, where they presented a petition calling for the 2024 Draft Constitution to be set aside in favour of the more consultative 2020 Draft Constitution, which was killed by members of the fifth legislature in September 2020.
Amidst the ongoing debates over the Draft Constitution, Hon. Halifa Sillah has called on Gambians to stay vigilant and actively engage in the Constitution-building process. 2026 is not far away, he reminded the public while saying that, if the population truly believes they want a constitution that is fit for purpose and they know the content they want, they will deal with anyone who does not deliver that.
Hon. Sillah emphasised the crucial role of parliamentarians in shaping the 2024 Draft Constitution when he said, "Power now belongs to the National Assembly members. They now have the power to axe what that executive brings and mould it into what they believe is [in] the interest of the people if they are really there for the people. It is now their duty to do that. But they cannot do that until the bill passes the second reading. Because the power they have is after the second reading; if it is passed, they still have the power to throw it [out] at the third reading if they so desire”.
Ministers and Ministry of Justice staff at Townhall Meeting © Askanwi
