The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) has published the much-awaited draft Constitution on Friday following months of consultations with Gambians at home and abroad.

This comes a week after the 11 member Commission announced a nationwide tour for another in-country public consultation.

The 22-page draft Constitution which contained 22 chapters and 315 clauses will be available to Gambians both in hard copies and on electronic for one month.

The Commission’s chairman Cherno Sulayman Jallow said at a press conference on Friday that the CRC had produced a draft Constitution that reflected the views and opinions of every section of the Gambian society.

“Throughout the execution of our assignment, the CRC Act has been our guide, ensuring at all times that we adhere as closely as possible to the terms of the Act.

“We have come to the conclusion while a leaner constitution may be desirable, it ought not to be the yardstick by which we measure the strength and effectiveness of the Constitution.”

He said that the Commission had taken adequate strides to reach out to Gambians at all levels to hear from them and receive proposals for the constitutional reform.

He said the published draft constitution will provide another opportunity for the public to review and give their opinions before it is sent to the president for approval in the new year.

The Constitutional Review Commission was established in 2017 with the principal mandate to draft a new democratic for the country after the end of a 22-year brutal dictatorship.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba

Below is an electronic copy of the draft Constitution.