Veteran politician Halifa Sallah has criticised the National Assembly for what he described “as a failure” to uphold its constitutional responsibility by rejecting the 2024 draft constitution without subjecting it to public scrutiny.

Speaking at a press conference, Sallah said the draft, prepared by the executive, lacked adequate public consultation, but insisted that parliament had a duty to remedy that shortcoming by leading an open, inclusive review.

“Once the executive brings the draft to the National Assembly, that’s where their authority ends,” he said.

“If the executive fails to consult, it becomes the National Assembly’s responsibility to do what the executive failed to do.”

Sallah, a longtime advocate of constitutional reform, argued that lawmakers missed a critical opportunity during the second reading of the bill.

Instead of blocking it, he said, the Assembly should have allowed the bill to proceed to the committee stage, where nationwide engagement and clause-by-clause scrutiny could take place.

 “They could have criticised the executive at that stage, but then moved forward with the real work for the Gambian people,” he said.

According to him, advancing the draft would have opened space for input from civil society, political parties, religious leaders, and ordinary citizens, culminating in a national referendum.

“That’s how you build consensus. That’s how you build a nation, by shaping the people’s mindset on how they should be governed.”

The National Assembly’s decision to stop the bill early has drawn criticism from reform advocates, who see it as a step back in The Gambia’s transition from autocracy to a stable democracy.

He called for constitution-making one of the most important acts of nation-building, warning that repeated failures risk eroding public trust.

“If we are serious about a constitution that is fit for purpose, there’s no reason we should be divided. We had the chance to build something together, and we let it slip.”

By Adama Makasuba