A group of concerned youths has written an open letter to MPs asking them to put national interest above political party or individual interest.
Already, some MPs have made it categorically clear they’re not going to back the draft constitution if certain changes are not made to it, stoking fears the 116 million dalasis document could be voted down.
A group of concerned Gambian youths in a letter on Friday signed by youth leader Baboucarr Nyang asked the MPs to set to one side political party or individual interest and rally round the national interest.
“As concerned and patriotic youths, cognizant of the far reaching and devastating implications of the rejection of the Bill, we urge you to vote ‘YES’ in support of the draft during the second and third reading as a ‘NO’ vote would be tantamount to an endorsement of the 1997 Constitution and betrayal of the trust as sovereign citizens of The Gambia,” the youths said in their letter.
The youths insisted elsewhere in their letter: “As our representatives, you passed the Constitutional Review Commission Act, 2017, setting in motion an inclusive and participatory constitutional building process. The Constitutional Review Commission, pursuant to its mandate and after extensive consultations with the stakeholders and a cross section of the citizenry produced a people-centered constitution.
“It is not a matter of contestation that the draft constitution is a representation of the will, wishes, and aspirations of the Gambian people, the people at whose behest you serve.
“We wish you remind you that the current coalition government used constitutional and electoral as key messages during the 2016 presidential campaigns and it is noted the majority of the National Assembly members were part of the coalition of parties that came together to form government thereafter. It is your solemn responsibility as OUR elected representatives and servants of the people to be guided by the dictates of conscience and national interest.”
Their three demands are for the MPs to: put national interest above political party and individual interest; support the constitutional and electoral processes until their logical conclusion i.e. usher in the Third Republic of the Gambia we envisaged in 2016; [and] approve the Constitution of The Republic of The Gambia (Promulgation) Bill, 2020.
