Halifa, greetings and welcome back from your tour.  I had also expressed
     interest in obtaining a copy of both the draft and final copy of our
     constitution.  Let me know how I can effectuate this transaction.

     Chi Jama

     Joe sambou

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: To: Lamin P.F. Manneh
Author:  The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
<[log in to unmask]> at PO_EXTERNET
Date:    02/08/2000 9:23 AM


Lamin,

Thank you for the update.  The constitution, which is now in force, is the
constitution of the Republic. Apparently, this is what has been subjected to
a referendum. The original draft, which was published, is what we have
produced in small pamphlets. Hence, both texts are available. I do not know
whether you have a copy of the present constitution. If you do, I can send
you copies of the pamphlets we produced on the original draft so that you
can make  a comparative analysis.

To address your question as to which one contains the wishes of the people,
I can only say that the basic provisions of the two are the same.

For example, chapter 1, section 1 indicates that "The Gambia is a Sovereign
Republic."

Section 19 states that:

"(1) Every person shall have the right to liberty and security of person. No
one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be
deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with
such procedures as are established by law.

"(2) Any person who is arrested or detained shall be informed as soon as is
reasonably practicable and in any case within three hours, in a language
that he or she understands, of the reasons for his or her arrest or
detention and of his or her right to consult a legal practitioner.

"(3) Any person who is arrested or detained -

"(a) for the purpose of bringing him or her before a court in execution of
the order of a court; or

"(b) upon reasonable suspicion of his or her having committed, or being
about to commit, a criminal offence under the law of The Gambia,

"and who is not released, shall be brought without undue delay before  court
and, in any event, within seventy-two hours.

"(4) Where any person is brought before a court in execution of the order of
a court in any proceedings or upon suspicion of his or her having committed
or being about to commit an offence, he or she shall not thereafter be
further held in custody in connection with those proceedings or that offence
save upon the order of a court.

"(5) Of any person arrested or detained as mentioned in subsection (3) (b)
is not tried within a reasonable time, then without prejudice to any further
proceedings which may be brought against him or her, he or she shall be
released either unconditionally or upon reasonable conditions, including, in
particular, such conditions as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he or
she appears at a later date for trial or proceedings preliminary to trial.

"(6) Any person who is unlawfully arrested or detained by any other person
shall be entitled to compensation from that other person or from any other
person or authority on whose behalf that other person was acting."

Section 26 asserts that:

"Every citizen of The Gambia of full age and capacity shall have the right,
without unreasonable restrictions-

"(a) to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through
freely chosen representatives;

"(b) to vote and stand for elections at genuine periodic elections for
public office, which elections shall be by universal and equal suffrage and
be held by secret ballot;

"(c) to have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in The
Gambia."


Section 27 states:

"(1) Men and women of full age and capacity shall have the right to marry
and found a family.
"(2) Marriage shall be based on the free and full consent of the intended
parties."


Section 28 further indicates that:

"(1) Women shall be accorded full and equal dignity of the person with men.
"(2) Women shall have the right to equal treatment with men, including equal
opportunities in political, economic and social activities."



Section 29 proceeds to state:

"(1) Children shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to
acquire a nationality and, subject to legislation enacted in the best
interest of children, to know and be cared for by their parents.
"(2) Children under the age of sixteen years are entitled to be protected
from economic exploitation and shall not be employed in or required to
perform work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their
education or be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual,
moral or social development.
"(3) A juvenile offender who is kept in lawful custody shall be kept
separately from adult offenders."

Section 30 states:

"All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and
facilities and with a view to achieving the full realisation of that right-
"(a) basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all;
"(b) secondary education, including technical and vocational education,
shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate
means, and in particular, by the progressive introduction of free education;
"(c) higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis
of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular, by progressive
introduction of free education;
"(d) functional literacy shall be encouraged or intensified as far as
possible;
"(e) the development of a system of schools with adequate facilities at all
levels shall be actively pursued.


Section 31 also  indicates:

"(1) The right of the disabled and handicapped to respect and human dignity
shall be recognised by the State and society.
"(2) Disabled persons shall be entitled to protection against exploitation
and to protection against discrimination, in particular as regards access to
health services, education and employment.
"(3) In any judicial proceedings in which a disabled person is a party, the
procedure shall take his or her condition into account.

Section 60 states:

"(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, political parties may be
established to participate in the shaping of the political will of the
people, to disseminate information of political ideas and on political,
economic and social programmes of a national character, and to sponsor
candidates for public elections.

"(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, an Act of the National may
make provision for the registration and cancelling of registration by the
Independent Electoral Commission, and the functioning and the operation, of
political parties, including the prescription of penalties for the failure
to register by associations which carry out the functions of political
parties or the carrying out of such functions by associations which have
been refused registration or the  registration of which has been cancelled.

"(3) The number of political parties shall not be limited by law and every
citizen of The Gambia shall have the right freely to choose whether or not
he or she will become a member of a political party and which party he or
she will support.

"(4) No association shall be registered, or remain registered, as a
political party if

"(a) it is formed or organised on an ethnic, sectional, religious or
regional basis;

"(b) its internal organisation does not conform to democratic principles; or

"(c) its purpose is to subvert this Constitution or the rule of law.

"(5) Every association seeking to be registered as a political party shall
submit to the Independent Electoral Commission-

"(a) a copy of the association's constitution;

"(b) the association's name and full address and the names and addresses of
all its officers;

"(c) the full address of its secretariat; and

"(d) the party's emblem, colour, motto or symbol.


"(6) A registered political party shall be required-

"(a) at the time of its application for registration, to deliver to the
Commission a written commitment to encourage the spirit of tolerance and
multiculturism amongst the inhabitants of The Gambia and to provide its
members with opportunities to benefit from any government programme of civic
education;

"(b) as occasion may require, to declare to the Commission and the public
its revenues and assets and the source of its revenue and assets;

"(c) to publish annually its audited accounts and to lodge a copy with the
Commission.

"(7) A registered political party shall not received any contribution or
donation to its expenses or otherwise from any person who is not a citizen
of The Gambia, or from any corporate or unincorporated body.

"(8) Any registered political party that intends to contest any election
shall deliver to the Commission on or before nomination day a copy of its
manifesto containing, among other matters, a clear explanation of the
party's programme for national development."


Section 100 states:

"(1) The legislative power of The Gambia shall be exercised by Bills passed
by the National Assembly and assented to by the President.

"(2) The National Assembly shall have no power to pass a Bill -

"(a) to establish a one party state;

"(b) to establish any religion as a state religion;

"(c) to alter the decision or judgment of a court in any proceedings to the
prejudice of any party to those proceedings, or deprive any person
retroactively of vested or acquired rights,

"but subject thereto, the National assembly may pass Bills designed to have
retroactive effect.

"(3) Where a Bill passed by the National Assembly is presented to the
President for his or her assent, the President shall, within thirty days,
assent to the Bill or return it to the National Assembly with the request
that the National Assembly reconsider the Bill; and if he or she requests
the National Assembly to reconsider the Bill, the President shall state the
reasons for the request and any recommendations for amendment of the Bill.

"(4) Where the National Assembly has reconsidered a Bill as so requested in
accordance with subsection (3) and has resolved by a vote supported by not
less than two thirds of all the members of the National Assembly that the
Bill, with or without the amendments recommended by the President, be
presented again to the President for his or her assent, the President shall
assent to the Bill within seven days of it being so presented.

"(5) A Bill which has been duly passed by the National Assembly and assented
to by the President shall become law as an Act of the National Assembly and
the words of enactment shall be "Enacted by the President and the National
Assembly".

"(6) The President shall cause Acts of the National Assembly to be published
in the Gazette within thirty d ays of assent.

"(7) No Act of the National Assembly shall come into operation until it has
been published in the Gazette, but the Act or some other Act of the National
Assembly may provide for the postponement of its coming into force.

"(8) Nothing in this section shall prevent an Act of the National Assembly
from conferring on any person or authority the power to make subsidiary
legislation."


We can go on and on to show the provisions that convey the wishes of the
people. However, both drafts did not contain a term limit. Both contain the
indemnity provision.

One of the differences between the original draft and the final one can be
found in the preamble. If you examine the preamble of the original draft,
the July 22 coup was not mentioned at all. In the final draft, it is
mentioned. Even though a preamble is not a part of the provisions of a
constitution, it is an embodiment of its spirit. It is my opinion that a
republican constitution should not make any reference to an assault against
constitutional authority.

So both drafts contain some wishes of the people and elements which vast
majority of the people may not support. Your question did not raise the
issue of the minor differences between the two. I do not want to get into an
issue you did not raise.

I am waiting to hear from you.


Greetings.


Halifa Sallah.




-----Original Message-----
From: Lamin Manneh PF <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, February 08, 2000 02:53
Subject: Re: To: Lamin P.F. Manneh


>Halifa,
>       What i was trying to say is that Gambians did not know the content
of
>the Redraft constitution because it was released on the eve of the
>refrendum.
>Thanks
>Lamin pf Manneh

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