The consultation sessions with regional caucuses of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), initiated by the Bureau, continued earlier today. The second leg of these engagements, which commenced last week, was conducted with the Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western African caucuses.
Aligning with the messages of unity, Pan-Africanism, and a sense of duty, the Acting President of the PAP, Hon. Lucia Dos Passos, urged the cooperation and mobilization of members of Africa's premier parliamentary body. The aim is to ensure attendance and active participation in the upcoming elective session, filling the vacancies in the Bureau.
The Acting President emphasized that it is the responsibility of every parliamentarian to contribute to restoring the institution's image following recent challenges. She stressed the importance of a peaceful election process, which will symbolize the full resumption of parliamentary activities. This call for action resonated with the leadership of the respective caucuses and their members, who unanimously expressed readiness and enthusiasm to resume parliamentary proceedings and serve the interests of African citizens.
As outlined in the agenda , today's virtual consultations included an update by Hon. Lucia Dos Passos regarding the implementation of decisions from the 44th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council concerning the situation in the Pan-African Parliament. It is important to note that the directives issued during last month's Executive Council meeting were followed by a letter from H.E Moussa Faki Mahamat, in his capacity as the Legal Representative of the Union, to underline the urgency of the implementation. These include the following:
• The PAP Plenary session should be convened at the PAP headquarters in Midrand, South Africa, before the end of March 2024, to fill the vacancies in the PAP Bureau. The Commission should oversee the election process of Bureau members to ensure transparency and independence, following the guidelines developed by the Office of the Legal Counsel.
• Pending the finalization of the election, the Third Vice President, Lucia Maria Mendes Goncalves Dos Passos, should immediately act as President in line with Article 12(7) of the Protocol, which specifies that rotation within the Bureau should occur in the absence of a president.
• The Clerk of the Secretariat of the Pan-African Parliament, Lindiwe Khumalo, should be immediately reinstated.
• The suspended Rules of Procedure of the Pan-African Parliament should be reconsidered by the PAP Plenary, taking into consideration the inconsistencies outlined in the Legal Opinion issued by the Office of the Legal Counsel.
• Any decision made based on the suspended revised Rules of Procedure of the PAP dated 4 November 2022, should be considered null and void.
• Administrative decisions made by the former and current leadership of PAP without following established rules and due process, including recruitment, promotions, and suspensions, should be reviewed and nullified.
In addition to the assumption of the role of Acting President by Hon. Lucia Dos Passos, and the resumption of duties by Ms. Lindiwe Khumalo as the Clerk of Parliament, the Caucuses learned that the implementation of the other directives, including the convening of the Plenary Session, is currently underway. In this regard, the Secretariat of the PAP presented the draft guidelines to the elections for the posts of President and Vice-Presidents of PAP.
The guidelines encompassed the role of various structures of Parliament, the nomination process, and the election procedure. In her intervention, the Clerk of Parliament, Ms Lindiwe Khumalo sought to highlight that the final guidelines will be produced in consultation with the Office of the Legal Counsel of the African Union, in line with the directives of the Executive Council. The date of the session will also be communicated to all members in due course as the PAP continues its engagements with the African Union Commission (AUC).
The meetings with the Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western African caucuses concluded the consultation process, which commenced last week with the Southern Caucus. This enabled information sharing on various aspects and ignited candid conversations among parliamentarians regarding the next steps in fully restoring parliamentary operations.
