After four weeks of rigorous legislative and oversight work, the Gambia’s National Assembly formally ended its Second Ordinary Session of the 2025 legislative cycle on Friday.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Fabakary Tombong Jatta, who presided over the last session, praised the legislators’ hard work and commitment during the session.
Honourable Members, this Ordinary Session comes to a conclusion today. The Assembly will hold its second Ordinary Session of the 2025 legislative year. The speaker said, “This was exactly a four-week ordinary session with lots of businesses.”
The introduction of the Constitution Promulgation Bill 2024 and many Private Member Bills were among the session’s highlights. In order to address national priorities, the Assembly also discussed a number of important legislative instruments, motions, and reports.
“The Constitution Promulgation Bill, Private Member Bill, and legislative processes of critical bills, including other important motions and reports, were also tabulated during the session,” he stated.
He pointed out that the Assembly addressed a number of the nation’s most urgent problems, such as social justice challenges, environmental dangers, and economic suffering.
“Honorable Members, we have also attempted to address the most important topics of our time during this session, ranging from social justice issues to environmental disasters, from economic difficulties to the protection of our liberties. Through the furnace of discussion and debate, we have witnessed the strength of the democratic process in action, where ideas are tried, honed, and occasionally changed. But as has always been stated, Honorable Members, the Plenary Assembly’s business can never be finished,” the Speaker stated.
He emphasized to the members that the legislature’s work is continuous and cannot be completed in a single session. “Let us continue the lessons acquired, the relationships formed, and the cooperative spirit that characterizes our democratic institution as we adjourn. We can all have a better future if we work together,” he said.
Hon. Billay G. Tunkara, the Majority Leader and Member for Kantora, formally moved the motion for adjournment, citing Standing Orders 13(5) and 54(1) of the 2019 Revised Standing Orders as well as Section 98(1)(b) of the Constitution.
Invoking Section 98(1)(b) of the Constitution and Orders 13(5) and 54(1) of the 2019 Revised Standing Orders, Hon. Tunkara pleaded with the Speaker to move the resolution to adjourn this Assembly sine-a-die.
He pointed out that the Assembly performed a wide range of legislative and oversight duties during the session, which started on Monday, June 16, 2025, and ended on Friday, July 11, 2025.
