On 10 June 2015, the executive published a Bill in the Gazette
entitled “Constitution (Amendment) Act 2015”
The Bill had the following object: it “seeks to amend the 1997Constitution of The Gambia to provide for the application of the death
penalty in circumstances other than where there is actual violence or
administration of toxic substances resulting in death.
The publication in the Gazette indicated that the Bill would be
subjected to a referendum after it is passed. Foroyaa pointed out that
the Bill affected an entrenched clause and could not be introduced in
the National Assembly after the first publication and could not be
passed by the National Assembly after it is introduced but should be
referred to the IEC for a referendum if the National Assembly by three
quarter majority supports the bill.
Foroyaa emphasised that after the June publication, at least three
months must elapse before the second publication could be made. This
should also last for at least 10 days before the Bill could be
introduced. Three months have elapsed but there is no second
publication of the Bill. It could therefore be assumed that the Bill
has been set aside. The future will tell.
