Hon. Mama Kandeh, Secretary General and Party Leader Gambia Democratic Congress
Press Release, 31st August 2024.
CLARIFICATION ON THE PARTY LEADERS ABUJA MEETING
Sequel to the Press Conference by the Minister of Information, Dr. Cessay, alongside the Attorney General, and Minister of Justice , Dawda Jallow, in which the Minister of Justice Dawda Jallow stated falsely that there was a consultation carried out on the recently gazetted draft constitution, the GDC feels compelled to let the people of The Gambia know that there is no iota of truth to that statement. Minister Jallow claimed that most of the changes unilaterally made to the original draft constitution by the Executive were on areas that had been allegedly agreed upon in Abuja, Nigeria by political party leaders, when they had a session under the auspices of former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan.
No discussion took place in Abuja on the unilateral changes to the draft constitution as gazetted by the government. The main focus of the Abuja discussions was to find a way of tackling the thorny issue of the retroactive application of the term limitation clause which the UDP and NPP delegates could not agree upon.
The Executive led by President Barrow unilaterally made changes in their own this time around. No stakeholders were consulted on these changes; the GDC certainly was not part of or party to any proceedings that produced these changes in the revised draft constitution.
It is clear to all what has transpired up-to-date is that the Barrow government is lacking the political will to honour President’s Barrow’s own pledge in 2016 to give Gambians a new constitution for the Third Republic. The changes that have now been unilaterally made to the original draft that was produced by the CRC are part of a deliberate but dishonorable ploy to force all patriotic citizens to reject the document that has been changed for presentation to the National Assembly and then blame the people who were never carried along in the first place for its failure. We at the GDC see through this cynical game that is being played with the destiny of our country by the Barrow government.
We call on all Gambians to unite and demand a change that will address the needs and aspirations of the people. This game staged by the Executive is a monumental act of betrayal which will not be forgiven by history.
We wish to remind the government and its agents that the Constitution is a national document, that regulates almost everything in the country. It is not a private instrument to be weaponized to serve personal and parochial interests, and it cannot be confiscated and monopolized at the executive level. History will not be kind to the Barrow administration if it does not retract its steps and do the right thing for the people of The Gambia regardless of party, class, region, religion, or ethnicity.
We know that the original draft produced by the CRC after wide consultations failed with the connivance and support of the same government that has now produced and gazetted a draft almost by stealth and with the underlying intent of continuing to run the country with the discredited 1997 constitution.
We join all Gambians to register our profound disgust and disappointment at these political shenanigans. However, we also urge all GDC members, supporters and the people of The Gambia not to lose hope. What is happening is a clear call on all of us to come together to usher in a government in 2026 that will respect our wishes for a new constitution that will be the people’s constitution built on the original draft that was produced by the CRC.
Hon. Mamma Kandeh
(GDC Party Leader and Secretary General).