Africa-Press – Gambia. Marr Nyang, founder and executive director of Gambia Participates, has expressed deep disappointment over the National Assembly’s decision to reject the 2024 draft constitution without engaging meaningfully with its content.
Speaking on the For the People, By the People show, Nyang criticized lawmakers for dismissing a document of such national importance without thorough scrutiny or public engagement.
“To outright reject the draft without looking at the content of the document, for me that was so disappointing,” he remarked.
Nyang emphasized that his stance on the 2024 draft constitution remains consistent with the position he took during the 2020 constitutional reform efforts. “The position that I took on the 2024 draft is no different from the 2020 draft. Working with the civil society and as a neutral person in this political mess, my interest and the interest of my organization is that of the interest of the population, which is we need constitutional reform,” He Said.
He warned that the current legal framework remains inadequate, stating that it enables excessive executive control and leaves the system vulnerable to authoritarianism. “We know the current legal frameworks are untenable; we know they are more prone to autocracy and also give executive monopoly to any government that is in power,” he said.
Reflecting on the drafting process, Nyang highlighted civil society’s active involvement during both the 2019 and 2020 reform efforts. He noted that his organization, through the CSO Coalition for Transparency, made formal submissions to improve the bill. However, he distanced himself from some civil society actors who insisted the 2020 draft be passed without amendments.
“We know lawmaking is political. Interests have to be balanced, but those interests must not dilute the general interest of the population,” he said.
He revealed that he had personally reached out to Members of Parliament, urging them to allow the 2024 draft to reach the committee stage, where necessary revisions could be made.
“I called parliamentarians, made statements that, look, let this pass through the committee stage and do the necessary amendments. Unfortunately, that did not happen. We did the same thing we did, even more than we did in 2020, to look at the 2024 draft, compare it with the 2020 draft, and make recommendations,” he said.
Addressing criticism over the executive’s lack of public consultation on the draft, Nyang pointed out that the National Assembly had ample opportunity—and a greater mandate—to engage the public themselves. Stating, “If you feel like the executive has failed in consulting the people on the 2024 draft, we were telling parliamentarians you actually have more authority and mandate to consult the people.”
He also acknowledged that no constitution could ever satisfy every citizen or reflect every national aspiration. However, he stressed that the foundational elements—particularly the protection of human rights—were well-articulated in the 2024 draft.
Finally, Nyang lamented that entrenched political rivalry between the United Democratic Party (UDP) and the National People’s Party (NPP) once again prevented meaningful compromise.
“They refused to sit and then agree on certain issues and look at the Gambia first and look at the citizens first,” he said. “There is no way you are going to achieve constitutional reform without building political consensus. I was more furious than anybody else in this process because we started this process a long time ago.”
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