Barrow Promises New Constitution With Term Limit If…

President Adama Barrow has said he will give Gambians a new constitution with term limits if his party gets an absolute majority in the legislature after the 2027 parliamentary elections. 

He said even though he is a “great fan” of presidential term limits, he does not regard it as the best system of governance.

Speaking to journalists at the electoral commission offices yesterday following the submission of his nomination papers, Barrow downplayed calls for him to step down at the end of his second term in December, saying that decision rests with Gambians.

“I have always made myself very clear that I believe in term limits. But that does not mean term limit is the best system of governance. We have countries that are very democratic like England and Germany but they do not have term limits. But I believe in term limits. And the Gambian people are the ones who elect a president. So they decide the fate of a president and it is up to the Gambian people to decide whether I should be president for a third time or not,” Barrow replied when asked about his initial pledge to introduce a term limit.

He however pointed out that if he wins the election and gains a majority in the National Assembly, a new constitution would be passed which would have a term limit. “I promise that if I have a majority in the National Assembly with a threshold of passing a new constitution, I will give the Gambian people a new constitution and there will be a term limit in that constitution,” Barrow added. He however declined to clarify if he would be contesting another election if he won a third term.

Social development
President Barrow pointed out that the next five years will be a continuation of his “Yiriwaa Agenda” to expand road and electricity networks and connectivity for communities to access social services such as health and education.

“We will modernise agriculture and facilitate access to markets for food security. We will develop the human capacity for our young people to create self-employment, and provide them opportunities to participate in the growing of our economy. We will strengthen our institutions, laws and respect for the rule of law in a democratic environment,” Barrow promised.

He urged Gambians to be law-abiding and maintain social cohesion during electioneering. “We have one Gambia and we are one nation,” he said.

Source: The Standard