Click here toFollowing their touchdown at Yundum airport after returning from constitutional talks in Nigeria last night, at least two party leaders have expressed their willingness to compromise on the retroactiveness of President Barrow’s current term.
- Advertisement -Mamma Kandeh of the GDC and Dr Ismaila Ceesay of Citizens’ Alliance told The Standard that striking a workable compromise is the best way to end the deadlock.
He said even though President Barrow and his camp “created all the mess”, the GDC is willing to compromise the retroactivity of the president’s first term for the constitution to pass and said understandably, “the political party leaders in the talks would have reacted the same way President Adama Barrow had reacted to the draft’s retroactiveness”. 
Dr Ismaila Ceesay for his part, explained: “The CA is ready to compromise on the retroactivity of the president’s term if we are guaranteed that there will be a new constitution with three things: a term limit; 50+1; and a quota system. If we are guaranteed these things in a new constitution before the election, we are ready to discuss.”
Dr Ceesay said the Abuja meeting was an avenue for the political parties to brainstorm and “not necessarily a negotiation”.
Asked whether the Abuja trip was necessary and that Barrow was in fact the spanner in the works, the political science lecturer said: “The president is not the only problem. We have multiple stakeholders in this process. For me it is not a question about where it takes place. It is about the process and the outcome we should focus on. The meeting could take place anywhere. Constitutional talks during colonialism took place in London and other European countries. So when there is an impasse there is nothing unbecoming about having a meeting outside The Gambia.
“When there was a political impasse in 2016, we went to Dakar to solve it. In fact the president was sworn in Dakar and Gambians were literally begging for Ecowas, Senegal and the UN to intervene. Why didn’t we say at that time let our courts or the National Assembly decide?” he queried.
He said that as far as CA is concerned, “We want a new constitution for this country and even if it means going to hell fire to get that constitution, we will go. Our transition will be meaningless if we are to go to election again without a new constitution.”
Dr Ceesay said although “there is still hope that they could reach a consensus” he cannot guarantee for a certainty that the final talks in Banjul will lead to a final resolution and a deal.
Justice Minister Dawda Jallow who was also part of the Abuja talks expressed his hope that the country’s political leaders could reach a consensus on the retroactivity of the president’s first term when they meet Goodluck Jonathan in Banjul next week.
“I cannot confidently say that we will reach an agreement but I am very hopeful as the discussions continue next week with [Mr Jonathan],” Minister Jallow told journalists at the airport yesterday evening.
The nation’s justice minister and several other political leaders flew into the country yesterday evening after jetting out to Nigeria for talks with Goodluck Jonathan over the constitutional crisis.
The Abuja meeting was put off on Wednesday after the discussants failed to reach agreement on whether President Barrow’s current term should be counted as the first of two terms, among others.
Minister Jallow said the retroactivity of the current term of the president remains “a challenge and that’s what they will try to reach consensus on next week”.
He disclosed that a communiqué will be released on the Abuja trip in the coming days, saying, “the state and his office were not part of the negotiation. We just facilitated it”.
Seedy Njie, who represented the NPP together with Mambanyick Njie, said all the political parties have agreed on all the points except for one but he declined to mention the party’s name.
When asked to comment on criticisms of his inclusion in the trip, Njie said: “I will not comment on that because I went there to represent my party. I don’t want to comment on personal issues.”
Meanwhile, the UDP leader, Ousainu Darboe, whose party is reportedly reluctant to compromise on the retroactivity of the president’s term opted not to talk to journalists at the airport. 
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The Standard has been reliably informed that the much-talked-about Gambia constitutional talks in Abuja, Nigeria, have been put off after the discussants failed to reach agreement on whether President Barrow’s current term should be counted as the first of two terms, among others.
- Advertisement -The meeting was part of a mediation process brokered by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan to get the stakeholders to agree on the draft constitution which was voted down in the National Assembly last September.
More than half-a-dozen political leaders and representatives of parties are in Abuja for the talks. They include Ousainu Darboe of UDP, Hamat Bah of NRP, Mamma Kandeh of GDC, Sheikh Tijan Hydara of Ganu, Seedy Njie of NPP, Mai Fatty of GMC and Dr Ismaila Ceesay of CA.
Last night, one of the participants at the talks told The Standard: “There is still no agreement on the retroactive clause of the [president’s current] term. The other bone of contention is the method to reintroduce the draft constitution to the National Assembly.  While some want the agreed amendments to be put in the draft before it is reintroduced by the minister of justice, others suggested it should be returned to the people through the CRC. Some prefer the draft to be returned to the assembly for the lawmakers to effect the necessary changes.”
‘Legitimate’
Meanwhile, the leader of the GMC, Mai Fatty has reacted to critics who said the whole exercise is unnecessary and an affront to The Gambia’s sovereignty. Fatty defended the talks as “necessary and legitimate”.
 “There is no legitimate length to which I will not go to revive the draft constitution because I represent the enthronement of democratic principles and practices in The Gambia and Africa. The venue of the talks is less important as to the outcomes of the negotiations. There are different explanations as to why the draft failed in parliament. The blame game will get us nowhere. It is important to find a route away from that cul-de-sac. That is to say, we must not just develop negative emotions and do nothing further. We should rise above negative sentiments; re-engage each other as brothers and sisters to get the draft back on track. There may be different ways of achieving that, and we should explore all positive avenues,” Fatty told The Standard from Abuja.
He added: “Adopting inflexible, extreme, uncompromising attitude on this matter of the draft constitution serves no one’s interests. When there are deep differences on matters of principle, it’s sometimes helpful to allow a credible neutral party to facilitate understanding. That is why I am in Abuja”.