The amendment to the Elections Bill 2021 was carried out with the current Elections Act 1996, Cap 3:01 Laws of The Gambia, as the base document. As such the First Schedule contained in that Act which consists of 41 constituencies was inadvertently attached instead of the current schedule which contains 53 constituencies.
The Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Justice has been in contact with the Independent Electoral Commission and the National Assembly and this inadvertent error has been rectified. The correct First Schedule will be part of the Elections Bill which will undergo a second reading on Monday 29th March 2021.
We wish to assure the general public that contrary to news reports, no decision has ever been taken by Government to alter the list of constituencies, nor does the Government have the power to do so. The delimitation of constituencies is reserved solely for the Boundaries Commission pursuant to Section 50 of the Constitution and whose powers are currently exercised by the Independent Electoral Commission under Section 9 of the Elections Act.
The Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Justice regrets this error and any inconvenience it might have caused to stakeholders and members of the general public.”
