New Pan African Parliament legislators to be sworn in

At least eighty Parliamentarians will be sworn in as new Members of the Pan African Parliament during the opening ceremony of the sixth Ordinary Session of the fourth Parliament that takes place today in Midrand, South Africa.

This follows general elections in a number of African States and rotation within national delegations.

Four new MPs from South Africa will join Santosh Vinita Kalyan who will serve another term. These are; Thandi Modise, Thokozile Didiza, Julius Malema and Mandlesizwe Mandela, according to information rom SA.

The Pan African Parliament has 255 members representing the 55 AU Member States that have ratified the Protocol establishing it. The five members in each country must include at least one woman and reflect the diversity of political representation in the National Parliament or deliberative organ. Uganda is a member of PAP.

The Clerk of Parliament, Vipya Harawa says this will be a significant change as Parliamentarians will also be electing new Leadership.

"We will be going to the polls to elect a President and four Vice-Presidents who will be taking the baton from the Bureau of the fourth Parliament on the 10th May 2018," the Clerk said.

The outgoing Bureau is made up of Roger Nkodo Dang of Cameroon (President), Eduardo Joaquim Mulembwe of Mozambique(1st Vice President), Safia Elmi Djibril from Djibouti(2nd Vice President), Suilma Beiruk from the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, (3rd Vice President) and  Bernadette Lahai from Sierra Leonne(4th Vice President). 

The five members of the Bureau of the Pan African Parliament are elected from each of the five geographical regions of the continent; Central, Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Africa, respectively.

Deliberations of this Session will be guided under the overall theme: "Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation.''

Moussa Faki MAHAMAT, Chairperson of the African Union Commission is expected to address the Plenary on the State of the African Union.  Among others, the session will discuss and make resolutions and recommendations on matters and issues that include the Europe-Africa Forum on the Challenges and Opportunities of Migration Flows; the Report on the African Union (AU) Year of Combating Corruption; and the Report on Repealing Defamation Laws to Promote Press Freedom.

"The term of the Bureau of the fourth Parliament will come to an end in May 2018. As a result, election of the new Members of the Bureau of the PAP will take place on 10 May 2018 on the side-lines of the Session," says the Clerk.