Attorney General Dawda Jallow has not explained why he pushed back the debate on the 2024 Draft Constitution to June. Many people guess the different reasons behind this delay. Some think it gives more time for the government to persuade National Assembly members before voting. Others believe officials need time to fix parts that critics hate. Whatever reasons exist, Jallow and Dr. Muhammed Ibn Chambas must work hard to win enough votes for this draft many see as serving President Barrow.
Yes, some meetings happened about creating a new draft after the 2020 version failed. But the 2024 Draft does not reflect what came from those talks. The discussions focused only on the 2020 version. The newest draft completely changes direction from the original. It mostly shows what the Barrow administration wants instead of keeping principles from the 2020 document. The government cherry-picked a few sections from the old draft but made their document, giving huge powers to the president.
The 2024 Draft includes some good parts but hands way more control to the president than most people like. If the government truly wanted to keep its promise of a new constitution, it should have simply brought back the 2020 Draft. The National Assembly could then make changes as needed. Instead, they created an almost completely different document. It aims to keep President Barrow powerful - even beyond what former President Yahya Jammeh had under the 1997 Constitution. This betrays what most Gambians wanted when they fought to end the Jammeh dictatorship.
Why does President Barrow insist on keeping total authority to name cabinet members and senior officials without National Assembly input? This goes against modern democracy. Past appointments without oversight led to abuse - people were chosen because of family ties rather than skills. Recent appointments to public boards show this problem clearly - most new members openly support the ruling NPP party. The president should send nominees to the National Assembly for proper review to ensure they serve everyone fairly.
The president should not control who becomes speaker of the legislature. Basic democracy says elected representatives should pick their leaders from among themselves. The National Assembly should never approve a constitution denying them this right. It makes no sense for elected members to accept having unelected leaders forced upon them by the president. The legislature must remain separate from executive control to function properly as an equal branch of government.
Clause 72 of the draft lets the president pick the Chairman and commissioners of the Independent Electoral Commission. The draft claims he must consult with the Judicial Service Commission and Public Service Commission first. These consultations mean nothing since he appointed many members of both groups. Most appointees have political connections and follow his commands without question. The IEC needs oversight from the National Assembly and other groups to stay truly independent.
The IEC already faces credibility problems today. Keeping the current appointment system makes these problems worse. Everyone watches anxiously to see who replaces former Chairman Alieu Momar Njai. Many citizens pray the president avoids naming someone whose main qualification seems to be loyalty to his NPP party. True election credibility requires true independence from the candidates seeking office.
Yes, some meetings happened about creating a new draft after the 2020 version failed. But the 2024 Draft does not reflect what came from those talks. The discussions focused only on the 2020 version. The newest draft completely changes direction from the original. It mostly shows what the Barrow administration wants instead of keeping principles from the 2020 document. The government cherry-picked a few sections from the old draft but made their document, giving huge powers to the president.
The 2024 Draft includes some good parts but hands way more control to the president than most people like. If the government truly wanted to keep its promise of a new constitution, it should have simply brought back the 2020 Draft. The National Assembly could then make changes as needed. Instead, they created an almost completely different document. It aims to keep President Barrow powerful - even beyond what former President Yahya Jammeh had under the 1997 Constitution. This betrays what most Gambians wanted when they fought to end the Jammeh dictatorship.
Why does President Barrow insist on keeping total authority to name cabinet members and senior officials without National Assembly input? This goes against modern democracy. Past appointments without oversight led to abuse - people were chosen because of family ties rather than skills. Recent appointments to public boards show this problem clearly - most new members openly support the ruling NPP party. The president should send nominees to the National Assembly for proper review to ensure they serve everyone fairly.
The president should not control who becomes speaker of the legislature. Basic democracy says elected representatives should pick their leaders from among themselves. The National Assembly should never approve a constitution denying them this right. It makes no sense for elected members to accept having unelected leaders forced upon them by the president. The legislature must remain separate from executive control to function properly as an equal branch of government.
Clause 72 of the draft lets the president pick the Chairman and commissioners of the Independent Electoral Commission. The draft claims he must consult with the Judicial Service Commission and Public Service Commission first. These consultations mean nothing since he appointed many members of both groups. Most appointees have political connections and follow his commands without question. The IEC needs oversight from the National Assembly and other groups to stay truly independent.
The IEC already faces credibility problems today. Keeping the current appointment system makes these problems worse. Everyone watches anxiously to see who replaces former Chairman Alieu Momar Njai. Many citizens pray the president avoids naming someone whose main qualification seems to be loyalty to his NPP party. True election credibility requires true independence from the candidates seeking office.
