A
virtual Consultative Meeting convened on Wednesday January 10 for members of
the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to discuss the election modalities for By-Election
in the Bureau recorded very low participation by the parliamentarians who heeded
the advice by the chairpersons of the five regional caucuses not to participate
in what they described as an illegal meeting. The Regional Caucus Chairpersons at
PAP are: Hon. Alhagie Mbow, Western
Caucus Chairperson; Hon. Pemmy Majodina,
Southern Caucus Chairperson; Hon. Jaynet
Kabila, Central Caucus Chairperson; Hon. Terrence Mondon, Eastern Caucus
Chairperson; and Hon. Abdelmajid
Azzedine, Northern Caucus Chairperson.
In
an earlier statement calling for the boycott of the meeting, the Regional Caucus
Chairpersons recalled a letter dated 18 October 2023 where on the advice of the
Office of Legal Counsel, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC)
noted that the Bureau as presently constituted is inquorate to take any binding
administrative or management decisions such that any meeting convened at the
instance of such an inquorate Bureau is illegal. The AUC Chairperson’s memo
clarified that:
i.
“The
current membership of the Bureau, comprising the 2nd and 3rd
Vice Presidents, does not have the requisite quorum and, accordingly, cannot
make binding administrative, financial and management decisions on the affairs
and facilities of PAP and its Organs until the Bureau has the appropriate
quorum;”
ii.
“Any
such decisions taken by the inquorate Bureau should be considered invalid and
cannot be implemented to safeguard the African Union from potential liability;”
iii.
“Pending
the finalization of the mission and the resultant transitional measures to be
proposed, the Clerk of the Pan-African Parliament Secretariat was authorized to
take administrative, financial and management decisions subject, where
appropriate, to the approval of the Chairperson of the African Union
Commission.”
The
Regional Caucus Chairpersons reminded the parliamentarians that the 2011
version of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure does not have any provision for
virtual meetings insisting that it is the 2022 suspended Rules that made
provision for virtual meetings. They also noted that a code of conduct cannot be
used to prescribe the procedure for conducting elections outside that stipulated
in the Rules of Procedure noting specifically that Rule 15 is clear on the
nomination process for candidates while Rule 84 provides for the role of
regional caucuses in the nomination of candidates. Rule 16 prescribes the
method for conducting Bureau election including Rule 16(3) which prescribes an
Ad Hoc Committee five-members constituted by an elected representative from
each Regional Caucus shall organize and preside over the election of the
President. Rule 13 states that “In all matters Members shall be guided in their
behaviour by the Code of Conduct to be drafted by the Permanent Committee on
Rules, Privileges and Discipline”.
Consequently,
such a code of conduct under the Rules of the Parliament must only confine
itself to behavioral matters such as how members conduct themselves both within
and outside the precincts of Parliament, how they relate with the media, how
they relate with staff. Code of Conduct cannot be used to amend or circumvent
the provisions of the Rules of Procedure.
Above
all, the amendments to the Rule of Procedure of the Parliament were only
temporarily suspended the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and it is
only the policy organs of the African Union that has the authority to make pronouncements
on the compatibility of the provisions of the amended rules with the PAP
Protocol. Until that determination is made, it is premature to talk about conduct
of by-election for members of the Bureau without a valid declaration of vacancy.
“We
therefore want to use this opportunity to thank parliamentarians for heeding
our call not to participate in the illegal meeting. The attempt to ambush the
Parliamentarians into endorsing a nicodemously prepared code of conduct for
election has failed woefully. We urge you to continue to be patient as the
policy organs of the AU will be addressing the issue of PAP in February with a
view to returning the Parliament to full normalcy” wrote the Regional
Chairpersons.
One
of the parliamentarians who participated in the virtual meeting informed our
correspondent that there were less than thirty (30) parliamentarians in
attendance and went on to share a screenshot of the attendance list. “As you
know, when participating in a zoom meeting, you can view the list of participants
and then screenshot it, which means that one cannot thereafter manipulate the list”.
He also disclosed that a number of the parliamentarians, who logged in for the
meeting, did so out of curiosity and not because of any desire to participate and
expressed their preference for a physical meeting as the only way to address
the issues facing the parliament.
The
parliamentarian disclosed that at no point during the meeting was code of conduct
shared to those in attendance and that no resolutions were submitted for
consideration or adoption.
This
position was corroborated by Hon. Dr.
Ashebir W. Gayo in a chat with our correspondent. Dr. Gayo stated that a consultative meeting does not necessarily require
quorum and that it was also not necessary to adopt resolutions as it is an
informal gathering, although he maintained that there was quorum, a claim
contradicted by a screenshot of the record of attendance in our possession.
Reacting, the
Chairperson of the Western Regional Caucus at PAP, Hon. Alhagie Mbow described a publication describing the virtual
meeting as successful as “misinformation”. He stated that “Only the Committee
on Rules have the mandate to prepare the grounds for elections and not a one
man Bureau. This is a futile exercise to test the intelligence and integrity of
the members of Parliament but be assured, we are up for the task. The days of
creating chaos for self centered interests are gone. We will do what it takes
to ensure we work for the people of Africa but only ethically and respectfully
observing the rules that bound us. There is no issue of rotation and must not
be used to mask your intentions. The PAP belongs to the people of Africa and
will remain so”.
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