Understanding the Role of the Pan African Parliament in AU Governance

Explore the Pan-African Parliament’s role, powers and model laws, the Malabo Protocol, and challenges involving funding and internal governance in 2026.

By Olu Ibekwe (Originally published: 4 August 2024 | Updated: 12 October 2026)

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) was established to give African peoples a voice in decisions about the continent’s development and integration. It is one of the nine organs originally listed in Article 5 of the African Union’s Constitutive Act, adopted in July 2000 in Lomé, Togo. Based in Midrand, South Africa, PAP provides a continental forum where parliamentarians debate shared challenges, promote democratic accountability and connect African Union commitments with the legislative and oversight responsibilities of national parliaments.

Yet its name can create expectations that exceed its present authority. PAP does not currently enact binding laws for all African countries. Its powers remain principally advisory and consultative, even as it develops model laws, encourages treaty implementation and seeks a stronger place in continental decision-making.

In 2026, that distinction matters more than ever. A new leadership under President H.E. Dr. Fateh Boutbig has placed institutional renewal and measurable results at the centre of its agenda. Meanwhile, an AU Executive Council decision has opened a route towards earlier parliamentary input into selected draft AU legal instruments.

Understanding PAP therefore requires looking at both its founding purpose and the practical limits within which it works: what it can do, how its recommendations reach decision-makers, and what must change for African citizens to experience its impact.

What is the Pan-African Parliament?

The Pan-African Parliament is an organ of the African Union established to promote popular participation in Africa’s development and economic integration.

Article 17 of the AU Constitutive Act provides for its establishment and leaves its composition, powers, functions and organization to the relevant Protocol. PAP consequently has a treaty-based institutional identity within the Union.

Its seat in South Africa does not make it a department of the South African Government. South Africa is the host country; PAP’s mandate is continental.

The Parliament’s distinctive contribution is to introduce parliamentary debate, public concerns and legislative experience into a system in which governments play a central role. Its value should be assessed through the quality of that contribution and the action it helps generate.

Why was PAP established?

PAP grew out of the broader Pan-African aspiration for solidarity, collective self-reliance and cooperation across national boundaries.

The institutional foundations developed through the 1991 Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, followed by the AU framework. The original PAP Protocol was adopted on 2 March 2001 and entered into force on 14 December 2003. The Parliament was inaugurated in March 2004.

Its creation addressed a fundamental question: how could African integration involve the people whose lives continental policies were intended to improve?

Agreements between governments are essential, but implementation also requires legislation, public expenditure, parliamentary scrutiny and citizen understanding. PAP was intended to help connect those responsibilities.

That purpose remains relevant when African states cooperate on trade, migration, food security, climate resilience, public health and peace.

The ultimate aim of the Pan-African Parliament is to evolve into an institution with full legislative powers, whose members are elected by universal adult suffrage.

Who are the members of the Pan-African Parliament?

Under the current Protocol, each participating Member State is represented by five parliamentarians, including at least one woman. Delegations must reflect the diversity of political opinions in their national parliament or other deliberative organ.

Members are elected or designated from among the members of those national institutions. Citizens do not currently elect PAP members through a separate continent-wide election.

A member’s term in the Pan-African Parliament begins on the day they take the oath of office or make a solemn declaration during a plenary session and ends when they cease to be a member of the national parliament or other deliberative organ that designated them.

The AU has 55 Member States, making 275 the full numerical complement on a five-member-per-state basis. That figure should not be confused with the number of members actually serving or attending a particular sitting, which depends on participation, accreditation and vacancies.

Equal national representation allows smaller states to participate on the same numerical basis as larger states. Political diversity within delegations is equally important: a continental parliamentary forum benefits from the presence of different views within each country.

PAP’s representative purpose also extends beyond national interests. Its founding vision requires members to consider the shared interests of African peoples.

How is PAP organized?

PAP’s work involves the Plenary, Bureau, committees and caucuses, supported by the Secretariat.

The Plenary

The Plenary is the highest decision-making organ of the Pan-African Parliament, comprising all duly accredited members. It brings parliamentarians together to debate continental issues, consider committee reports and adopt resolutions and recommendations expressing Parliament’s collective position.

Its powers include electing the President and four Vice-Presidents and adopting Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, subject to the PAP Protocol. The Plenary also provides institutional direction through its decisions and directives, within which the Bureau exercises its management and administrative responsibilities.

Article 14 of the PAP Protocol requires Parliament to hold at least two ordinary sessions annually. In practice, these sessions have routinely been held in May and October, with slight variations when circumstances require adjustments to the parliamentary calendar.

Article 14 also provides for extraordinary sessions. Two-thirds of the Pan-African Parliamentarians, the Assembly or the Council may, through the Chairperson of the OAU, request such a session by written notification addressed to the President. The request must explain the reasons for convening the session and specify the matters to be discussed. The President shall convene the session, whose deliberations are limited to the matters identified in the request. It ends once its agenda has been exhausted.

The proceedings of the Pan-African Parliament are open to the public, unless otherwise directed by the Bureau, supporting transparency and public engagement in its work.

The Bureau

The Bureau comprises the President and four Vice-Presidents, representing Africa’s five regions. Article 12.5 of the PAP Protocol designates them as the Officers of the Pan-African Parliament. Under the President’s control and direction, and subject to directives issued by Parliament, they are responsible for managing and administering the affairs and facilities of PAP and its organs. In discharging these duties, the Officers are assisted by the Clerk and two Deputy Clerks.

The office of President rotates among the five regions. Separately, Article 12.7 provides that the President presides over parliamentary proceedings, except those held in committee, and that, in the President’s absence, the Vice-Presidents act in rotation in accordance with the Rules of Procedure.

H.E. Dr. Fateh Boutbig of Algeria became President on 30 April 2026, succeeding H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira. The First Ordinary Session of the Seventh Parliament opened on 27 July 2026.

Under Rule 17 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, the Bureau is responsible for:

1. Managing and administering the Parliament and its organs;

2. Regulating the procedures relating to the financial, organizational and administrative needs in accordance with the financial rules and regulations of the AU and matters concerning members and the internal organization of the Parliament and its organs;

3. Determining the draft agenda and the programs of the Parliamentary sessions;

4. Determining the establishment and organizational structure of the Secretariat, and formulating staff regulations and terms and conditions of service for submission to the Plenary for adoption;

5. Propose to Parliament for adoption the establishment and job descriptions of its support staff;

6. Propose to the Pan African Parliament, the appointment of the Clerk and Deputy Clerks to Parliament

7. Preparing the draft budget of the Parliament and its presentation to the responsible Committee;

8. Coordinating and harmonizing the functions of the Permanent Committees;

9. Carrying out any other functions as prescribed by Parliament or incidental to these functions.

Committees and caucuses

PAP has twelve Permanent Committees, which examine issues in depth, undertake consultations and develop reports and recommendations for consideration by the Plenary. Committee sittings are routinely held in March and August, with adjustments where circumstances require.

The Parliament also has two thematic caucuses: the Women’s Caucus and the Youth Caucus, which promote the participation of women and young people and advance their concerns within continental parliamentary work.

There are five Regional Caucuses, corresponding to the five regions recognized by the African Union: Central, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Africa. These caucuses coordinate regional participation, develop common positions and support advocacy on continental priorities. Under PAP’s Rules of Procedure, they are also responsible for nominating candidates for the various offices of the Parliament, making them central to its leadership selection process.

PAP Rules of Procedure provides for the following Permanent Committees:

a) Permanent Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment;

b) Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs;

c) Permanent Committee on Cooperation, International Relations and Conflict Resolution;

d) Permanent Committee on Transport, Industry, Communications, Energy, Science and Technology;

e) Permanent Committee on Health, Labour and Social Affairs;

f) Permanent Committee on Education, Culture, Tourism and Human Resources;

g) Permanent Committee on Gender, Family, Youth, and People with Disability;

h) Permanent Committee on Justice and Human Rights;

i) Permanent Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline;

j) Permanent Committee on Audits and Public Accounts;

The Secretariat

The Secretariat provides administrative, procedural and technical support under the Clerk assisted by two Deputy Clerks: the Deputy Clerk in charge of Legislative Business and Conferences and the Deputy Clerk in charge of Finance, Administration and Human Resources. The Clerk and Deputy Clerks are appointed by the Parliament, on recommendation of the Bureau. It assists the elected parliamentary structures in the discharge of their duties; it should not be presented as an independent political organ with an equivalent mandate.

Effective parliamentary work requires both political leadership and professional administration, with clear responsibilities and reliable support services.

What powers does the Pan-African Parliament have?

Article 11 of the current Protocol provides the principal basis for PAP’s functions. These include making recommendations, contributing to the harmonization of national laws and examining matters relevant to continental governance.

PAP can discuss its own budget and the AU budget before Assembly approval. It may also request AU officials to attend its sessions, provide documents or assist its work.

These are meaningful opportunities for scrutiny and influence. They do not amount to a general power to compel governments to adopt PAP’s positions.

Area	PAP’s present role	Practical limit
Continental policy	Debate issues and recommend action	Recommendations do not automatically bind governments
Legal harmonization	Encourage compatible national approaches	Domestic changes require the appropriate national processes
Budget scrutiny	Discuss budgets and make recommendations	PAP does not hold final AU budget approval authority
Accountability	Seek information and question policy choices	It does not exercise the full enforcement powers of a national legislature
Integration	Connect parliamentary work with continental priorities	Results depend on cooperation and implementation

The distinction between influence and enforcement is central to understanding PAP.

A recommendation can shape public debate, improve a policy proposal or persuade a national parliament to act. Its effectiveness depends on the evidence behind it, the institutions receiving it and the follow-up that occurs.

Can PAP make laws binding on African countries?

PAP does not currently possess a general power to enact legislation binding across AU Member States.

It nevertheless contributes to legislative development through model laws: frameworks that national legislatures can consider when preparing or revising domestic legislation.

A model law offers a common approach to a shared problem. It can help lawmakers identify suitable standards, compare policy options and reduce unnecessary differences between national systems. It does not become domestic law merely because PAP adopts it.

PAP’s model laws address a broad range of development, governance and social protection priorities.

PAP’s model laws and legislative initiatives

PAP has developed a growing portfolio of model laws to support the harmonization of national legislation across Africa. These instruments provide adaptable frameworks that national parliaments can draw upon when developing or reviewing domestic laws. Their adoption by PAP does not automatically make them binding within Member States.

It is important to distinguish adopted model laws from drafts undergoing consultation and proposals whose development has been authorized or announced.

Adopted model laws

Model law	Adoption and subsequent developments
Model Law on Policing in Africa	Adopted in October 2019.
Model Law on Disability in Africa	Adopted in October 2019.
Model Law on Food and Nutrition Security in Africa	Adopted in November 2022 and publicly launched in June 2024.
Model Law on Cooperatives in Africa	Adopted during the June–July 2024 session and launched in October 2025.
Model Law on Labour Migration in Africa	Adopted on 5 November 2025.
Model Law on Gender Equality and Equity	Adopted on 5 November 2025.
Model Law on Sustainable Soil Management in Africa	Adopted in November 2025 during the Sixth Ordinary Session of the Sixth Legislature.

These instruments address matters ranging from policing and disability rights to food security, cooperative development, labour migration, gender equality and environmental protection. Their practical value depends on national consideration, adaptation and implementation, supported by parliamentary oversight.

Drafts and other model-law initiatives

PAP’s legislative work also includes instruments at different stages of development. Approval to formulate a model law, endorsement of a policy paper or acceptance at first reading should be distinguished from final adoption.

Model law or initiative	Stage reflected in the available records
Model Law on Factoring in Africa	First reading was approved in July 2025. A subsequent PAP release described it among previously adopted instruments, but its final adoption resolution and date require clarification.
Model Law on the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness	The draft underwent continental consultation in November 2025, with further technical review and plenary consideration envisaged. Earlier references to adoption require clarification as to whether they concerned the development resolution or the completed text.
Model Law on Climate Change in Africa	Development was authorized in 2023. Technical and stakeholder consultations continued in 2025 and 2026, including the September 2026 consultation in Nairobi.
Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Model Law	Development was announced in January 2026 to support national approaches to data protection, privacy and digital rights.
Model Law on African Food Policy	Proposed collaboration between PAP and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa was announced in August 2026. This initiative is distinct from the adopted food and nutrition security model law.
Model Law on Traditional Medicines and the Protection of Local Knowledge	Reported as a development initiative; its formal authorisation and latest drafting stage remain to be confirmed.

PAP’s expanded partnership with Partners for Patients NGO also identifies 55 proposed health model-law titles. These cover subjects such as cancer, malaria, vaccination, maternal and child health, access to medicines, digital health, water and sanitation, and pandemic preparedness. They constitute a proposed legislative work programme. Each would require the appropriate research, consultation, drafting, legal review and parliamentary consideration before adoption.

Related model instruments

PAP’s contribution to legal harmonization extends beyond instruments formally titled “model laws.”

Instrument	PAP’s involvement and status
African Model Double Taxation Agreement	Adopted by PAP in October 2019 following collaboration with the African Union Commission on International Law.
AU Model Law on Medical Products Regulation	Developed through collaboration involving the AU Commission, NEPAD, PAP and other partners; endorsed by AU Heads of State and Government in January 2016.
Model Treaty for Mutual Legal Assistance for Police Cooperation in Africa	Its development was mandated in May 2017 alongside the policing model-law initiative. Final adoption is not established by the records reviewed.

These distinctions help identify both Parliament’s completed outputs and the wider initiatives to which it has contributed.

How does PAP develop and consider model laws?

PAP’s published procedural framework sets out a process combining political authorization, technical drafting and public consultation. The framework describes three principal stages: initiation, formulation and adoption, followed by implementation and monitoring activities.

Stage	Principal activities
Initiation and referral	A proposal is submitted through the Clerk to the Bureau, which identifies the Permanent Committee best placed to lead its consideration.
Assessment and authorisation	The responsible committee examines the need for harmonisation, the supporting AU legal and policy framework, and the financial and technical capacity to undertake the work. The Plenary considers its recommendation to authorise development.
Research and drafting	A policy paper establishes the evidence and conceptual basis for the instrument. A drafting team prepares the text, supported by technical advice and committee guidance.
First reading and consultation	The draft is presented for initial parliamentary consideration and stakeholder input. Regional consultations help incorporate different legal traditions, national circumstances and community perspectives.
Revision and legal scrutiny	Consultation findings are incorporated into the draft, which undergoes legal review and examination by the relevant committees.
Final plenary consideration	The Plenary debates the proposed model law and may adopt it, adopt it with amendments or return it for further revision.
Post-adoption follow-up	The framework envisages submission for AU consideration, dissemination, advocacy for national adaptation and monitoring of implementation.

The process is intended to ensure that model laws reflect African realities and are capable of practical use across different national legal systems. Consultation also helps build understanding and ownership among the institutions and communities expected to use them.

Ultimately, PAP’s contribution should be assessed through both the quality of its model laws and their influence on national legislation. Tracking which countries adapt an instrument, what changes they introduce and how implementation affects citizens would provide stronger evidence of Parliament’s impact.

These instruments provide frameworks that national parliaments can draw upon when developing or reviewing domestic legislation. Their practical impact depends on national adaptation, enactment and implementation, supported by parliamentary oversight.

Their potential value lies in national uptake. A model law becomes more useful when parliamentary committees study it, consult affected communities and adapt relevant provisions to local conditions.

For that reason, PAP’s legislative contribution should be measured through implementation as well as adoption. Tracking which countries use a model law, which provisions they incorporate and what results follow would provide stronger evidence of impact.

What is the Malabo Protocol, and why does it matter?

The Malabo Protocol is the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union relating to the Pan-African Parliament, adopted by the Twenty-Third Ordinary Session of the Assembly held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on 27 June 2014. It seeks to replace the original PAP Protocol with a revised framework that strengthens the Parliament’s role in continental governance, broadens parliamentary participation and improves women’s representation.

Its importance lies in addressing the gap between PAP’s founding aspiration to represent African peoples and its presently limited advisory and consultative authority. However, the revised Protocol has not entered into force, so its proposed changes must be distinguished from the powers PAP currently exercises.

What would the Malabo Protocol change?

The revised Protocol would formally designate PAP as the legislative organ of the African Union. That designation requires careful explanation. Under Article 8, the AU Assembly would determine the subjects on which PAP could propose draft model laws, with those proposals submitted to the Assembly for consideration and approval. It would therefore establish a stronger but defined legislative role, while retaining substantial authority within the Assembly.

The Protocol would also give a clearer treaty basis to PAP’s participation in AU affairs through consideration of reports, opinions on referred draft legal instruments, budget discussions and cooperation with national and regional parliaments. These provisions could help connect continental policymaking with national legislative experience and implementation requirements.

Changes to representation would be significant. Each Member State would continue to have five representatives, but at least two would have to be women, compared with the minimum of one under the current framework. Pending arrangements for direct elections, national parliaments or other deliberative organs would elect PAP representatives from outside their own membership. This would alter the present system, under which PAP members are selected from among serving national parliamentarians.

Taken together, these reforms could strengthen PAP’s institutional identity and its contribution to African integration. Their effectiveness would still depend on adequate resources, workable procedures and sustained cooperation with other AU institutions and national legislatures.

Ratification remains the obstacle

The principal obstacle is completing the ratification process required to bring the revised framework into operation. The Protocol enters into force 30 days after a simple majority of AU Member States deposit their instruments of ratification with the Chairperson of the AU Commission. With 55 Member States, that means 28 deposits.

As explained in African Parliamentary News’s analysis of PAP’s Senegal advocacy mission, the AU Assembly indicated in February 2025 that 13 further ratifications were required, implying 15 at that point.

Signature, ratification and deposit are separate steps. Signing does not complete a state’s consent to be bound. The necessary national procedures must be concluded, and the instrument must be deposited with the AU Commission to count towards the entry-into-force threshold.

This explains the importance of targeted advocacy such as PAP’s September 2026 Senegal mission. Effective engagement must identify where the national process has stalled, address questions about the proposed institutional changes and establish which authorities are responsible for completing the remaining steps.

National parliaments have an essential role in that effort. They can scrutinize the Protocol, undertake the approvals required under their constitutional systems and hold governments accountable for progress towards ratification and deposit.

The challenge is therefore to turn political support for a stronger PAP into completed treaty action. Until the entry-into-force requirements are met, the original Protocol remains the governing framework.

Challenges facing ratification of the Malabo Protocol

Ratification of the Malabo Protocol faces political, institutional and procedural obstacles that vary across Member States. Its proposed changes raise questions about the distribution of authority within the AU, the selection of PAP representatives from outside national parliamentary membership, the requirement for at least two women in each delegation and the resources needed to implement the revised framework. Progress can also be slowed by competing legislative priorities, changes in government or parliamentary leadership, and weak coordination between ministries and national legislatures. Where lawmakers receive limited information about the Protocol’s purpose and implications, political support may not translate into completed ratification procedures and deposit of the instrument with the AU Commission. Effective advocacy therefore requires country-specific engagement: identifying the outstanding steps, addressing substantive concerns and securing a clear timetable for action. PAP must also demonstrate how a stronger continental Parliament would support national legislatures, democratic accountability and African integration.

What changed for PAP’s role in AU governance in 2026?

An important development came through Executive Council Decision EX.CL/Dec.1362(XLIX), adopted in July 2026.

Paragraph 7 requests the AU Commission to engage PAP, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), and the African Union Commission on International Law (AUCIL) on possible arrangements for structured advisory input into selected draft AU legal instruments before their submission to the competent Policy Organs.

Paragraph 8 requires the Ministerial Committee to report on implementation at the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council.

The decision creates an opportunity; it does not establish a completed consultation system or confer binding legislative powers.

Its potential significance lies in timing. Parliamentary input can be more useful while an instrument is being developed, when questions about domestic implementation, public acceptance and legislative feasibility can still shape its provisions.

A practical response would require PAP to establish a clear process for receiving drafts, assigning committee responsibility, consulting stakeholders and submitting advice within agreed deadlines.

African Parliamentary News’s related analysis examines this opening in greater detail: [Executive Council Opens Door for PAP Input into Draft AU Legal Instruments](https://www.africanparliamentarynews.com/2026/09/executive-council-opens-door-for-pap.html).

How does PAP relate to other African Union institutions?

The AU’s institutional design gives different organs different responsibilities. Recognition as an AU organ does not produce equality of decision-making power.

The Assembly brings together Heads of State and Government. The Executive Council operates at ministerial level. The Permanent Representatives Committee comprises Member States’ representatives, while the AU Commission performs the Union’s secretariat functions.

PAP contributes a parliamentary perspective within that structure. It cannot assume the functions assigned to the other organs, but its contribution deserves an effective route into their deliberations.

In September 2026, President Boutbig and AUC Deputy Chairperson H.E. Selma Haddadi agreed to strengthen coordination between the Parliament and Commission.

For such cooperation to produce institutional value, meetings should lead to defined responsibilities, timely exchanges of information and responses to parliamentary recommendations. A Parliament needs to know whether its advice was accepted, modified or declined, and why.

What is PAP’s role in democracy, elections and human rights?

PAP’s stated objectives include promoting democracy, human rights, transparency and accountable governance. It also encourages national and regional parliaments to ratify and integrate AU treaties into their legal systems.

Those responsibilities can support parliamentary debate about electoral integrity, civic participation, equality and the rule of law.

Election observation, where PAP members participate in authorized missions, can contribute to that wider effort. Observation should be understood alongside the longer work of improving electoral laws, institutions and democratic practice.

PAP is not a court and does not determine binding outcomes in national electoral disputes. Its contribution lies in scrutiny, recommendations, advocacy and cooperation with the competent institutions.

The same distinction applies to human rights. PAP can help bring concerns into continental debate and encourage legislative responses. It does not replace the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights or the African Court.

How does PAP contribute to peace and security?

PAP’s relationship with the AU Peace and Security Council has a specific treaty basis.

Article 18 of the PSC Protocol provides for close working relations with PAP. It also provides for reports to the Parliament when requested through the Commission Chairperson, and an annual report on the continent’s peace and security situation.

These provisions offer a basis for parliamentary scrutiny of conflict prevention and the human consequences of insecurity.

Parliamentarians can contribute questions about displacement, humanitarian protection, public expenditure and the domestic measures needed to support peace commitments. Parliamentary diplomacy can also sustain dialogue between legislatures.

PAP does not command peace operations. Its contribution is to strengthen the parliamentary dimension of Africa’s peace and security efforts.

Why are national parliaments essential to PAP’s effectiveness?

National parliaments connect continental commitments with domestic lawmaking, expenditure and oversight.

A PAP recommendation may require a national committee to investigate an issue, a legislature to revise a law, or a government to explain its implementation plans. Without those connections, continental debate can remain distant from citizens’ daily experience.

A stronger relationship would involve regular reports from national PAP delegations, referral of relevant recommendations to domestic committees and public tracking of follow-up.

Regional parliamentary institutions are also important partners. Cooperation can help identify shared priorities, exchange legislative experience and avoid duplicating work.

PAP’s effectiveness therefore depends partly on whether its members carry useful continental proposals into their national institutions and bring national implementation challenges back to PAP.

How does PAP support Agenda 2063 and African integration?

Agenda 2063 provides the AU’s long-term development framework. PAP can contribute by connecting its ambitions with legislative choices, budget priorities and public accountability.

The 2026 AU theme focuses on sustainable water availability and safe sanitation. PAP’s July 2026 work on the theme examined investment gaps, water management and links between soil health, water security and climate resilience.

These subjects illustrate the practical parliamentary questions behind continental commitments: which laws need improvement, where funding is missing, and which institutions must account for delivery?

PAP’s new leadership has also identified AfCFTA implementation, digital transformation, peace and security, and the empowerment of women and youth among its priorities.

For integration to benefit citizens, parliamentary engagement must help translate these priorities into identifiable national action.

How can civil society and citizens engage with PAP?

PAP’s stated responsibilities include cooperation with civil society, community-based organizations and grassroots organizations.

Such engagement can improve parliamentary work by supplying evidence about how laws and policies affect people in practice.

Organizations seeking to contribute should identify the relevant committee or consultation, prepare focused submissions and confirm the applicable participation arrangements. Access requirements depend on the activity concerned.

A useful submission explains the problem, provides credible evidence, identifies the responsible institutions and proposes action within PAP’s mandate.

Public access to reports, recommendations and follow-up information would also help citizens assess the Parliament’s contribution.

The Challenges Facing the Parliament

The Pan-African Parliament faces a combination of limited powers, financial constraints, administrative dependence and weak implementation of its recommendations. These challenges help explain why its treaty-based mandate has not always translated into the influence or public visibility envisaged at its establishment.

Limited powers and delayed institutional reform

PAP’s advisory and consultative status limits its ability to secure action. It can debate continental issues, request information, develop model laws and recommend reforms, but it generally depends on other AU institutions and national authorities to implement its proposals.

The continued delay in bringing the Malabo Protocol into force has prolonged this transitional arrangement. However, PAP’s effectiveness also depends on how consistently it uses its existing powers, the quality of its recommendations and the institutional support available for follow-up.

An imbalance between parliamentary mandate and executive influence

The African Union remains predominantly executive-driven. Heads of State and Government, ministers and ambassadors occupy influential positions in the institutions through which continental decisions, budgets and administrative proposals are considered.

PAP introduces a different representative dimension: its national delegations are required to reflect diverse political opinions, including perspectives beyond those of governing parties. Yet the resources and administrative processes needed to exercise that parliamentary mandate remain substantially influenced by executive institutions.

As examined in APN’s article, Who Really Controls the Pan-African Parliament and Its Budget?, inclusion among AU organs does not produce equality in institutional power, operational autonomy or access to resources. The Commission and Permanent Representatives Committee occupy influential positions in the processes affecting PAP’s funding, staffing and institutional development.

Their responsibilities for coordination and financial scrutiny are necessary. The challenge is to ensure that these functions respect the authority assigned to Parliament and its Officers under the PAP Protocol. Common financial accountability should support lawful parliamentary activity without displacing Parliament’s responsibility to determine its priorities.

Budgetary contraction and staffing constraints

The scale of PAP’s financial contraction illustrates the practical consequences. Its approved budget declined from approximately US$32.46 million in 2016 to US$10.35 million in 2025, a reduction of nearly 68 per cent. Compared with its approximately US$18.5 million budget in 2019, the decline exceeded 40 per cent.

Such reductions constrain the capacity to convene sessions, sustain committee work, consult stakeholders, undertake fact-finding missions, develop model laws and communicate with African citizens. Shortages of researchers, legislative drafters, interpreters and other essential personnel further weaken the support available to members.

The Protocol nevertheless gives PAP an express budgetary role. Article 11.2 provides for parliamentary discussion of its own budget and the wider Community budget before Assembly approval. Article 15.2 assigns PAP responsibility for drawing up its budget in accordance with the applicable financial rules, with approval resting with the Assembly during the present phase of its development.

Giving practical effect to these provisions requires PAP’s financial proposals to reflect its mandate and for parliamentary recommendations to receive meaningful consideration within the AU budget process.

The gap between recommendations and implementation

Adopting a resolution or model law is only one stage of parliamentary work. Its value depends on what follows: consideration by the relevant AU institution, legislative action at national level, budgetary provision or changes in administrative practice.

PAP needs stronger arrangements for tracking referrals, obtaining institutional responses and reporting implementation. National delegations should also regularly brief their legislatures and refer relevant PAP recommendations to domestic committees.

The 2026 opening for structured advisory input into selected draft AU legal instruments could strengthen PAP’s influence earlier in the policymaking process. Its usefulness will depend on timely access to drafts, adequate technical support and feedback explaining how Parliament’s advice was treated.

Internal governance, credibility and public engagement

PAP’s own performance is equally important. Clear procedures, respect for the governing Protocol, sound financial management and transparent reporting strengthen its credibility when it seeks greater institutional authority.

Citizens also need accessible evidence of what Parliament achieves. Reporting should show how its work contributes to national legislation, better public services, accountable government and continental cooperation.

Addressing these challenges therefore requires action across the AU system and within PAP itself. Member States and AU institutions must respect and support its treaty-based responsibilities, while Parliament must demonstrate that its resources, deliberations and recommendations produce practical value for African peoples.

Interference in internal governance and prolonged uncertainty over the Rules

A major challenge facing PAP is external intervention in matters that its founding Protocol assigns to Parliament itself. These include adopting its Rules of Procedure, electing its leadership and managing its internal affairs. Ensuring compliance with the Protocol is necessary, but that process should respect Parliament’s treaty-based authority and provide a clear, consistent route for correcting identified defects.

The handling of the amended Rules of Procedure illustrates the problem. In October 2023, the amendments were suspended following concerns about their consistency with the Protocol, including the introduction of a fixed three-year Bureau tenure considered incompatible with Article 12.3. A more proportionate approach would have been to identify and suspend the inconsistent provisions while preserving amendments that could lawfully operate independently. A broader suspension disrupted institutional arrangements and prolonged uncertainty over the framework governing Parliament.

The episode formed part of the leadership crisis that lasted approximately seven months, from August 2023 to March 2024. The subsequent change in the Office of the Legal Counsel’s position on the three-year tenure created further uncertainty. Having previously advised that the fixed term was inconsistent with Article 12.3, the OLC later supported its retention without a corresponding amendment to the governing Protocol. This inconsistency complicated Parliament’s efforts to establish stable and legally coherent rules.

Since its November 2024 sitting, PAP has pursued the revision and alignment of its Rules of Procedure. Despite successive deliberations and efforts to address the identified concerns, the process has remained unresolved. The prolonged involvement of external institutions raises a fundamental question: how can Parliament effectively exercise its express power to adopt its own Rules when completion of that process remains dependent on competing interpretations and interventions outside its elected structures?

Legal advice should clarify the applicable framework and help Parliament resolve inconsistencies. Changes in that advice require a transparent explanation of their legal basis, particularly where they affect leadership tenure, institutional continuity and previously adopted corrective measures.

The appropriate response is to ensure that Parliament’s Rules conform to the Protocol while preserving its authority to adopt them. External scrutiny should identify specific defects, provide consistent guidance and facilitate timely correction. An indefinite alignment process weakens parliamentary autonomy, diverts attention from substantive work and leaves the institution vulnerable to recurring disputes over its internal governance.

High turnover of the Members of Parliament

Another major challenge facing the Pan-African Parliament is the high turnover of its Members. Under the current PAP Protocol, a Member’s tenure is tied to continued membership of the national parliament or deliberative organ that designated them. Because Member States follow different electoral calendars, changes in national delegations occur throughout the parliamentary cycle, requiring PAP to regularly swear in new Members.

This turnover disrupts continuity in committee work, weakens institutional memory and requires repeated investment in induction and capacity building. Experienced Members may leave while legislative initiatives, model laws or oversight activities are still underway, leaving their successors to familiarize themselves with ongoing work and continental priorities. The resulting loss of accumulated knowledge and expertise can slow implementation of parliamentary decisions and weaken follow-up with national legislatures. Stronger institutional documentation, structured induction and effective handover arrangements are therefore essential to preserving continuity and sustaining the Parliament’s capacity to discharge its mandate.

What would make PAP more effective?

A stronger PAP requires both institutional reform and disciplined use of its existing mandate.

Priorities include implementing the 2026 opening for structured advisory input, strengthening national parliamentary follow-up, supporting committee research and consultation, and maintaining rules consistent with the governing Protocol.

Ratification of the Malabo Protocol remains an important reform objective. Meanwhile, PAP can improve the quality, visibility and practical usefulness of the work it is already authorized to undertake.

African citizens need to see how continental parliamentary activity relates to matters such as affordable services, accountable government, food security and freedom of movement. Clear evidence of that connection would strengthen PAP’s public standing.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where is the Pan-African Parliament located?

PAP’s seat is in Midrand, South Africa. It serves a continental mandate as an AU organ.

Who is the President of PAP in 2026?

H.E. Dr. Fateh Boutbig of Algeria became President on 30 April 2026.

How many members does each country send to PAP?

Each participating Member State has five representatives. Under the current Protocol, at least one must be a woman.

Are PAP members directly elected by African citizens?

There is currently no separate continent-wide popular election for PAP. Members are elected or designated by their national parliament or other deliberative organ.

Are PAP model laws binding?

They are frameworks for national consideration. Domestic legal effect requires the appropriate national legislative processes.

Has the Malabo Protocol entered into force?

It has not entered into force. PAP continues to operate under the original Protocol.

Did the 2026 Executive Council decision give PAP legislative powers?

Decision EX.CL/Dec.1362(XLIX) requests engagement on possible arrangements for earlier advisory input into selected draft AU legal instruments. It does not confer binding legislative authority.

A parliamentary voice that must translate into action

PAP gives the African Union a forum for parliamentary debate and a channel through which the concerns of African peoples can enter continental governance.

Its mandate already offers scope for useful work. The challenge is to connect that work with institutions able to implement it, while pursuing the reforms needed to strengthen its authority.

The opportunity opened in 2026 will be judged by the arrangements developed and the contribution they enable. PAP’s wider success will depend on whether its debates, advice and model laws help produce better decisions and demonstrable improvements for African citizens.

Sources and further reading

- [AU Constitutive Act](https://au.int/sites/default/files/pages/34873-file-constitutiveact_en.pdf)

- [Original PAP Protocol: treaty text and status](https://au.int/en/treaties/protocol-treaty-establishing-african-economic-community-relating-pan-african-parliament)

- [About the Pan-African Parliament](https://pap.au.int/en/about)

- [PAP’s role and legal responsibilities](https://pap.au.int/en/role-and-legal-responsibilities)

- [Malabo Protocol: treaty text and status](https://au.int/en/treaties/protocol-constitutive-act-african-union-relating-pan-african-parliament)

- [Executive Council decisions, July 2026: see EX.CL/Dec.1362(XLIX), paragraphs 7–8](https://au.int/sites/default/files/EX%20CL%20Dec%201352%20-%201363%20%28XLIX%29%20_E.pdf)

- [Peace and Security Council Protocol: see Article 18](https://www.peaceau.org/uploads/psc-protocol-en.pdf)

- [Opening of the First Ordinary Session of the Seventh Parliament](https://pap.au.int/en/news/press-releases/2026-07-27/president-pan-african-parliament-signals-new-chapter-continenta)

- Status of AU Treaties: https://au.int/en/treaties