PARLIAMENTS - (PAP) PAN AFRICAN PARLIAMENT

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, having lasting for the first five years. Initially the seat of the Pan-African Parliament was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but was later moved to Midrand, South Africa. The goal in establishing the parliament was creating a space where people from all states of Africa could meet, deliberate, and pass some policy on issues that affect the entire continent of Africa.

The Parliament is composed of a maximum of five members per member state that have ratified the Protocol establishing it, including at least one woman per Member State. These members are selected by their member state and their domestic legislatures. The overall goal for the parliament is to be an institution that has full legislative power whose members are elected through universal suffrage, as stated by South African President Jacob Zuma in his opening speech to the first ordinary session of the second legislature of the Pan-African Parliament on October 28, 2009.

The Pan-African Parliament is composed of three sections. The Plenary is the main legislative and deliberation section of the Parliament, where representatives meet regularly to discuss issues in Africa and potential solutions. The Bureau is the leadership section of the Parliament, made up of a president and four vice presidents, all of whom are elected by delegates in the Plenary. The final section of the Parliament is the Secretariat, which is the organizational body of the Parliament and is chaired by a Clerk, Deputy Clerk, and an Acting Deputy Clerk. Together, these structures maintain and carry out the goals and protocol set out to govern the Parliament.

At the Parliament's 2022 elections, Chief Fortune Charumbira from Zimbabwe was elected as the new President, and Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf from Mauritania, Ashebiri Gayo from Ethiopia, Lúcia Maria Mendes Gonçalves dos Passos from Cape Verde, and Francois Ango Ndoutoume from Gabon were elected as Vice Presidents.

Structure
The Parliament is made up of three main bodies: the plenary, bureau, and secretariat. There are also Ten Permanent Committees, which were created to deal with different sectors of life in Africa.

Plenary
The Plenary is the main decision-making body of the Parliament. The Plenary consists of the delegates from the member states, and is chaired by the President. It is the body which passes resolutions.

The Pan-African Parliament has 235 representatives that are elected by the legislatures of 47 of the 54 AU states, rather than being directly elected in their own capacity. Each member state sends a delegation of five parliamentarians to the Parliament, at least one of whom must be a woman. The composition of the delegation should reflect the political diversity of the member state's legislature.

Bureau
Main article: Bureau of the Pan-African Parliament
The Bureau is the leadership group of the Parliament and consists of the President and four vice-presidents. Each member of the Bureau represents a different region of Africa. The current members of the Bureau are:

President - Hon. Chief Fortune Zephania Charumbira from Zimbabwe.
First Vice President -Hon. Prof Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf from Mauritania.
Second Vice President - Hon. Dr Ashebiri Gayo from Ethiopia
Third Vice President - Hon. Lucia Dos Passos from Cape Verde
Fourth Vice President - Hon. Djidda Mamar Mahamat from Chad
Secretariat
Main article: Secretariat of the Pan-African Parliament
The Secretariat assists in the day-to-day running of the Parliament, undertaking duties such as minuting meetings, organizing elections and managing staff. The Secretariat consists of the Clerk of Parliament and two Deputy Clerks – one of whom leads the Legislative Business Department, the other the Finance, Administration, and Human Resources. The Clerk of Parliament and their deputies are also supported by other staff and functionaries when needed.

History
The Abuja Treaty of 1991 and Sirte Declaration of 1999 called for the creation of a PAP. The former had simply listed the PAP among the organization's bodies and stated, "In order to ensure that the peoples of Africa are fully involved in the economic development and integration of the Continent, there shall be established a Pan-African Parliament. The composition, functions, powers and organisation of the Pan-African Parliament shall be defined in a Protocol providing thereof." The Treaty on the Establishment of the African Union and a Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament followed. Then there was the Constitutive Act of the African Union. The Protocol Establishing the Pan African Parliament was adopted in 2000 during the OAU Summit in Lomé, Togo. SEE MORE https://en.wikipedia.org