Africa-Press – Gambia. The rejection of the 2024 Draft Constitution by The Gambia’s National Assembly on Monday has once again dashed the hopes of many Gambians who were yearning for meaningful democratic reform.
While the government of President Adama Barrow presented the draft as a product of national consultation and a step toward institutionalising good governance, its quiet burial suggests something more calculated or so it seems. Barrow may have finally secured what he wanted all along.
The truth is that one of the most progressive and debated provisions of the now-defunct 2020 draft was its presidential term limit clause. This was among the clauses that were axed. So with some other changes in 2024 draft, the rejection now takes us back to the 1997 Constitution.
By stalling and ultimately discarding the draft, Barrow and his allies have preserved the current 1997 Constitution, which does not bar him from seeking reelection. For a president who once promised to serve only three years and usher in a new democratic era, the rejection reveals a stark contradiction between rhetoric and reality. It is no longer a matter of speculation—it is clear Barrow intends to remain a central figure in Gambian politics for as long as the system allows it.
This move is not without consequence. The draft was the culmination of years of public consultation and significant funding from international partners. It represented not just legal reform, but a symbol of The Gambia’s post-Jammeh democratic renewal. To toss it aside sends a chilling message to citizens and the international community: that personal political survival still trumps institutional reform in Banjul.
There will be attempts to spin the rejection—perhaps as a flaw in the process, or as a document too controversial for consensus. But the core truth is simple. A chance to reset the country’s democracy and enshrine clear limits on executive power has been deliberately missed. The result is a presidency that remains dangerously unbound.
If this pattern continues, The country risks sliding back into the very political culture it fought so hard to escape.
The question remains: is this rejection a victory or defeat for Barrow?
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