Pan-African Parliament marred with violence ahead of crucial vote

Hosia Mviringi

Ugly scenes of violence, disorder and confusion characterised the Pan-African Parliament in Midrand South Africa today, as the African legislative body failed again to hold internal elections.

A scheduled vote to fill up critical positions was cancelled last week Thursday when one of the Parliament staffers was confirmed to be Covid-19 positive.

Scenes seen on visuals from the Convention centre in Midrand show members of the PAP engaged in a fierce dispute over what appeared to be a ballot box. Someone is heard in the visual audio calling for the police to be called in to quell the chaos that seemed to be escalating.

Members of the PAP have been engaged in a heated dispute over the issue of rotational leadership instead of direct elections.
The PAP is deeply divided into regional lines with a near-perpetual fight for dominance of the Continental law-making body.

The first Pan-African Parliament was inaugurated on March 18, 2004, in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Its main thrust is to evolve into a full legislative body whose membership is elected through adult universal suffrage.
Its headquarters is seated in Midrand South Africa.
It was set up to ensure the full participation of African people in the economic development and integration of the continent.

Members of the PAP are not directly elected by the people but rather they are designated and seconded by domestic legislatures of their Member States.

The African Union Assembly adopted the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union Relating to the Pan-African Parliament during its June 2014 Summit In Addis Ababa.
Part of the major thrust of the PAP is to oversee the harmonisation and coordination of member States’ legislation.
Each member state that has ratified the Protocol establishing the Parliament contributes five legislators to the PAP, including at least one woman per member state.

Zimbabwe’s President of the Chiefs Council Honourable Chief Fortune Charumbira Pan-African Parliament marred with violence ahead of crucial vote is the Acting President of PAP and SADC region’s candidate for the PAP President, while Haidara Aichata Cisse, a Malian politician is also running for the PAP Presidency representing the ECOWAS region.

Incumbent Cameroonian politician Roger Nkodo Dang is not contesting the Presidency having run his two three year terms. He represents the Central African region.