Section 70 of the Constitution states, among other things, that the vice president is the principal assistant of the president.
Section 77 states:
“The Vice-President shall answer in the National Assembly for matters affecting the President, and the President shall be entitled to send a message to the National Assembly to be read on his or her behalf by the Vice-President.”
It is therefore clear that the role of the vice president is like the leader of government business in the National Assembly. The separation of powers between the executive and the national assembly has changed. The system based on Westminster where ministers are also members of parliament is no longer the case. The system in The Gambia is now based on the separation of powers where the ministers are no longer members of parliament. Hence the vice president under separation of powers has tremendous responsibilities.
