Goodluck Jonathan in Banjul to facilitate workable national consensus in Gambia

Former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, arrived in The Gambia on Friday to assist with the ongoing process of reviewing the country’s constitution in order to achieve a workable national consensus, an official source in Banjul said.

A report on the Gambia radio monitored by PANA said that the former president was in Gambia at the invitation of Gambian leader Adama Barrow.

Jonathan is expected to use his experience and goodwill as a respected international statesman to advance the constitution review process and improve the progress of the ongoing national dialogue.

A draft constitution could not get enough support from the legislature for a third reading in the National Assembly in September 2020

When voting, the vote was 31-42 with three abstentions.

The Gambia began building a constitution in 2019 to repeal the 1997 constitution, which was amended more than 50 times by former dictator Yahya Jammeh.

It provides for two terms of office for the presidency. However, the drafters included a retrograde clause in the document which counted President Barrow’s first term as part of the two terms he could serve in office.