Gov’t Gazettes a Bill to Repeal 1997 Constitution for 2020 Draft

The Justice Ministry of The Gambia has announced Friday the bill to promulgate the 2020 Constitution and repeal the 1997 Constitution has been gazetted on Thursday.

“This is the first such publication. The second publication of the bill in the Gazette shall occur 3 months from this date. Thereafter, the bill should be ready for introduction into the National Assembly at least 10 days after the date of the second publication in the Gazette pursuant to section 226 of the 1997 Constitution,” a statement stated.

A fourth night ago, the State House has announced that the government will table the draft Constitution before the lawmakers in August following the presidential review.

Some provisions in the new Constitution have brought about controversies from President Barrow’s camp as his executive members alleged discriminatory against him for counting the current term among the two-terms of ten years.

The Civil Society groups under the auspices of The Association of Non-Governmental Organization of The Gambia (TANGO) last week have strongly urged the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to conduct a timely referendum for the draft Constitution before the 2021 general elections.