By: Kemo Kanyi
The UDP leader Lawyer Ousainou Darboe has broken his silence over his recent meeting with President Adama Barrow over a constitution, saying his party maintains its position for the reintroduction of the 2020 draft.
The discussion was mediated by Mohamed Ibn Chambers through the instrumentality of the International IDEA.
The UDP’s leader stated that he and Mr. Barrow agreed that the country needs to have a new constitution but have failed to agree on which of the two to be adopted as the country’s new constitution.
“We agreed that The Gambia should have a new draft constitution, but the disagreement was whether to adopt the 2020 or 2024 draft constitution. We did not agree to a particular draft constitution. The UDP still maintains its position that the draft constitution that cost the country D116 million dalasi of taxpayers’ money, which was highly consultative, should be brought back to the National Assembly for consideration and if there is any need for amendment, the NAMs can work on that. This is our stand as a party,” Ousainou Darboe revealed in a recent interview on Membeh Kering TV.
Darboe clarified that the discussion with the President did not touch on what parts to be retained or omitted from either constitutions, reiterating that the country needs a constitution that will not support self-perpetuating rule so that the ugly and unwelcomed experiences of the past do not surface their faces again.