Enhancing The Role Of The Pan African Parliament In The Institutional Architecture Of The African Union

By: OLU IBEKWE (oluchukwuibekwe@gmail.com)

At The 28^th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government (Assembly) of the African Union (AU) held in January 2017 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Assembly decided to embark upon a robust process of reform of the continental organization, based on past experiences and entrusted the preparation of the study to His Excellency, Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda.

Five main areas were at the center of the discourse: Focusing on fewer priority areas with continental scope, Institutional Realignment, Connecting the AU with African Citizenry, Management of AU at the political and operational levels and Sustainable Financing of AU programmes.

On management of the AU at the political and operational levels, the Assembly approved a new structure for the Commission to be made up of Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and six (6) Commissioners. It also resolved that the election of the Chairperson of the AU Commission should be enhanced by a robust merit-based and transparent selection process.

Under the new structure, the Assembly shall be responsible for the election and appointment of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Commission while the Executive Council shall be responsible for the election and appointment of the commissioners.

Candidates for the position of Chairperson of the Commission shall participate in a public debate to be broadcast live on the AU website during which they shall present their visions and ideas on the implementation of Agenda 2063.

The Assembly also approved the establishment of a “Panel of Eminent Africans”, composed of five (5) eminent personalities, one per region to oversee the pre-selection of candidates for senior leadership positions in the AU Commission. Member states are to propose their nominations for the Panel of Eminent Africans to the Commission which shall then present such nominations to the Assembly for approval.

As is the case with similar supra-national bodies like the European Union (EU), why didn’t the AU allow for legislative input by PAP in the selection process?

PAP deserves a Role in the selection process

According to the Preamble to the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing PAP, the establishment of the Parliament is informed by a vision to provide a common platform for African peoples and their grass-roots organizations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the Continent.

PAP is supposed to be central to Africa’s integration agenda, and should be facilitated by the Assembly to play this role. If PAP is to provide an arena for African representatives to make significant contribution to democracy building in Africa, then the process of electing and appointing the senior leadership positions in the Commission should be amended to make room for legislative input .

This will be consistent with the provisions of Article 11 of the PAP Protocol which states that PAP has the power to “examine, discuss or express an opinion on any matter, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Assembly or other policy organs and make any recommendations it may deem fit relating to, inter alia, matters pertaining to respect of human rights, the consolidation of democratic institutions and the culture of democracy, as well as the promotion of good governance and the rule of law”.

That the Assembly did not deem it fit to assign any role to PAP in the process of electing and appointing candidates to senior level positions at the AU Commission is inconsistent with the vision of the founders of the AU in the establishment of Pan African Parliament especially within the context of the AU Reform process.

The Assembly should revisit and amend its decision on the process of screening the candidates for the position of Chairperson of the Commission to require such candidates to appear before PAP for screening which will be broadcast live on the AU website during which they shall present their visions and ideas in the implementation of Agenda 2063. After screening, PAP can submit a list of at least two candidates to the Assembly for eventual selection and appointment.

Secondly, PAP should be allowed to play a robust role in determining the qualification as well as the screening of such persons to be appointed to the Panel of Eminent Persons for eventual approval by the Assembly.

Conclusion

The above changes if considered and implemented will give democratic legitimacy to the AU selection process for the senior leadership positions by ensuring transparency and accountability. Above all, it will give PAP a much needed political momentum as a continental parliament while enhancing its visibility through such a robust political engagement