Africa-Press – Gambia. National Assembly Members (NAMs) of the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) have declared their support for the 2024 Draft Constitution, urging fellow lawmakers to advance the bill to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny.
The endorsement came during the second reading of the draft constitution presented by the Minister of Justice. Both Hon. Suwaibou Touray, Member for Wuli East, and Hon. Musa Cham, Member for Serrekunda, appealed for consensus and national unity in moving the process forward.
Debating the bill’s principles and merits, Hon. Suwaibou Touray emphasized the importance of allowing the draft to pass the second reading to enable broader engagement and potential amendments.“You will not like everything, and you will not hate everything, so we must take and we must also give, but if we believe that the process that we are doing to improve our democracy, to improve our laws, that’s the process we are taking, then we should allow this thing to go to the second reading so that we will move just like all the other bills and put what is there,” he said.
He called on fellow parliamentarians to set aside personal and partisan interests for the sake of national progress.
“I urge all my colleagues—we are friends, we are countrymen, we are compassionate—let’s forego all our various interests and concentrate on the national interests and so that we work together harmoniously, give and take consensus, and come up with a new draft constitution that we can give opportunity to our people. Remember, if we reject this, what we are doing is we are abrogating knowledge to ourselves. We are saying we know everything, we know what is good for our people, everything, and therefore our people don’t have to have a say,” he said.
Touray argued that allowing the bill to proceed would allow the relevant parliamentary committee to engage citizens and gather their input.
“But if we go to the second reading, a committee will have an opportunity to go to the people and ask them again about their aspirations, and we will get their input. But if we kill it here, that means that we arrogate knowledge to ourselves, and we deprive our people of the opportunity to have a say in the building of a constitution for their country,” he demurred.
Hon. Musa Cham, the PDOIS National Assembly Member for Serrekunda, echoed Hon. Touray’s position by endorsing the 2024 Draft Constitution. He advocated for the bill to pass the second reading and urged the National Assembly to subject it to thorough scrutiny through proper legislative procedures, ensuring that all citizens have the opportunity to participate in the constitutional reform process.
“After the debate, if we allow it to go to the committee stage, the committee will do consultation with interest groups and with the citizens as well, and whoever feels that something needs to be amended, they can also present their position papers as well,” he added.
He added, “Honorable Speaker, when it comes to the committee of the whole house, we can do our amendments, but for many of us, that’s where our worry is because we have witnessed some of the members on the majority side have been also playing those powers but this document doesn’t require that.”
Cham also raised concerns about undue influence over parliamentary decisions, urging members to be guided by conscience and national duty rather than political pressure.
“As a national assembly member, we should be dictated by conscience and national interest but in our context in the Gambia here, because of poverty, many are not financially strong, they cannot stand alone, they cannot sponsor their campaign so they are compelled to succumb to those that fund their campaign. Honourable Speaker, this is about the country,” he said.
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