By: Sarjo Brito
The Constitutional Amendment Bill tabled by the National Assembly Member for Banjul South, Touma Njie, has failed to proceed to its third reading in Parliament. The bill, which was tabled before Parliamentarians on February 10th, 2022, sought to amend section 88 of the 1997 Constitution by enlarging the composition of the National Assembly and the reservation of fourteen (14) seats for women and two (2) persons with disabilities.
The highly debated bill sought to impose an obligation on political parties to promote gender equality in the selection of candidates to contest Parliamentary elections.
The failure of the bill to proceed to the voting stage was due to the lack of a quorum. 42 Members of Parliament are required to be present for voting to happen, as per section 226 of the Constitution.
Only thirty-five Parliamentarians were present in the National Chambers at the time of voting (February 21st, 2022), failing to meet the required number of 42-Members.
Touma Njie in her reaction soon after parliamentary proceedings told reporters she had won anyway, despite the outcome of the bill. Touma further stated that she is following International Conventions and protocols that The Gambia has signed to provide for 30% of female representation in all works of life.
‘’for me, I have won anyway. Gambian women have won because this has never happened. It is the first-ever attempt and for me, I am following international conventions and international protocols that we have signed to provide 30% of female representation in all works of life. It should start with parliament. You can see we only have three elected members of parliament and that is a total disgrace when we have a majority of our population who are female.’’
The Constitutional Amendment Bill has since its first reading generated a lot of debate amongst Gambians. While advocates agree with Touma on the bill, critics on the other hand view the bill as tokenism, arguing that no Member of Parliament should be given a free seat by virtue of their disability or gender.
