By Omonu Nelson, Monrovia, Liberia
The Community parliament of the ECOWAS region has been challenged to create the needed enabling environment for women participation and occupy strategic positions like their male counterpart.
The Chairperson of the Female Legislature Caucus, Dr Rosanna Schaack gave this challenge in a goodwill message at the opening ceremony of the Delocalized Meeting of the Joint Committee on Social Affairs, Gender and Women Empowerment, Education, Science and Culture underway in Monrovia, the Liberian capital.
She said women must be empowered socially and economically to play active role in shaping modern political discourse.
In a speech, Liberia's Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Affairs, Madam Williametta Saydee Tarr, explained that significant milestone has been achieved in support of gender equality and women's empowerment within the context of the African Leaders adoption of the strategy for the African Women Decades covering the period, 2010 to 2020.
According to her, "As a responsible agency, significant progress has been made under the dynamic leadership of Dr George Manneh Weah, as he has continued to exhibit political-will and commitment, thus promoting gender equality, women's empowerment and women's rights as ensconced in government's Pro-poor Agenda, Prosperity and Development (PAPD)
She said, "Our Government has continued to support civil society actor and development partners to capitalize and leveraging on commitment to promote economic and political empowerment of women to improve the status of women through legal and constitutional means, institutional gender mechanisms or creating conducive environment for women to realize their potential.
"We acknowedge the heightened cases of sexual violence. Our Government is partnering with local and international stakeholders to domesticated laws that will adequately punish offenders"
Madam Tarr agreed that a lot more still needs to be done as the female gender still continues to face challenges of harmful practices such as genital mutilation and others.
In a welcome address, the leader of Liberian delegation to ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr. said since George Weah's era as the head of the country's delegation to ECOParl, the parliament has continued to witness more Delocalized meetings. "Liberia as founding member of ECOWAS has continued to play pivotal role in sustaining the organization.
In a goodwill message, Liberian Foreign Affairs, Dee - Maxwell Saah Kemayah explained that in its nearly three decades of existence, ECOWAS Parliament has deliberated on key issues that have impacted positively on the region.
Source: parliamentnews360.com
[post_date_unix] => 1618445645 [post_date] => April 15, 2021 [post_modified] => April 15, 2021 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/women-have-socio-economic-roles-to-play-in-shaping-modern-political-discourse-dr-schaack/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [635] => Array ( [post_id] => 635 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 636 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/ecowas-parliament-speaks-for-women-empowerment-in-the-region/ [post_title] => ECOWAS PARLIAMENT Reemphasizes Women Empowerment in the Region [post_title_attribute] => ECOWAS PARLIAMENT Reemphasizes Women Empowerment in the Region [post_excerpt] => [post_content] =>By: Communication Division, ECOWAS Parliament.
The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) is organizing a delocalized meeting under the theme "Empowerment of women in the ECOWAS region", from 13 to 17 April 2021 in Monrovia, Liberia.
The meeting is being led by the Joint Committee on Social Affairs, Gender and Women Empowerment / Education, Science and Culture / Health, of the Community Parliament.
The main aim of the Monrovia meeting is to provide the members of the Joint Committee with the keys to analyzing and understanding the problems that impede women’s empowerment in the region, in order to propose solutions.
Choosing Liberia to host this important meeting is not done randomly. This is the first country in Africa to elect a woman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, as President, by direct universal suffrage.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment remains at the heart of the regional integration process. To achieve this, ECOWAS adopted a legal instrument, the Supplementary Act on Equality of Rights between Men and Women for Sustainable Development in the ECOWAS Region, which was adopted by the 47th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government held in Accra, Ghana, on the 19th of May 2015.
More recently at the ECOWAS Parliament level, the strategic plan of the fifth legislature, adopted on 31st March 2021 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, strongly reaffirms equality of opportunity between women and men and identifies women empowerment as a major strategic focus of the fifth legislature.
Despite the progress made in promoting gender equality, there is still a range of institutional, political, or economic obstacles, which impede women's empowerment.
It is intended that at the end of the meeting, the Community Parliamentarians will reach conclusions that will contribute to the removal of these obstacles. Women’s Empowerment is a complex process, of attaining full participation in civil, political, social, and economic life, and the exercise of corresponding rights.
Source: parliamentnews360.com
[post_date_unix] => 1618442386 [post_date] => April 14, 2021 [post_modified] => April 14, 2021 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/ecowas-parliament-speaks-for-women-empowerment-in-the-region/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [618] => Array ( [post_id] => 618 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 619 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/un-pushes-for-policies-to-protect-women-in-informal-sector/ [post_title] => UN Pushes for Policies to Protect Women in informal Sector [post_title_attribute] => UN Pushes for Policies to Protect Women in informal Sector [post_excerpt] => [post_content] =>By Lizzy Okoji
Monrovia (Liberia), April 14, 2021 (NAN) Mrs Sangeteta Thapa, Deputy Country Representative, United Nations Women in Liberia has called on the ECOWAS Parliament to come up with policies that will protect and recognize the contributions of women in the informal sectors.
Thappa made the call on Wednesday during a Technical Session on “Strategies to Empower Women Working in the Informal Sector” at the ongoing ECOWAS Parliament delocalized meeting in Monrovia, Liberia.
According to Thappa, women in the informal sector contribute a lot to the economy of countries in the ECOWAS Region but unfortunately, they are invisible and their contributions are not recognized.
Thappa however called on the ECOWAS Parliament not to limit their focus on women in the formal sectors but also push for policies that will protect and recognize women in the informal sector.
She said that the UN Women have been doing a lot to support Women Informal Cross Border Traders in Liberia, recognizing their huge economic contribution s of their trading activities in Liberia.
This she says relates to the challenges women Informal Cross Border Traders face even in other countries of the Sub region.
“Women are economic actors and the importance of women in the informal sector cannot be overemphasized.
“They are backbone to the society and their contributions are not formally recognized but they have proven themselves to be economic actors but their contributions are not visible.
“So it is very important to formalize their role and to recognise them to have an identity so that their contributions are recorded in the National Account system.
“That is something that is not recorded and something that we really need to push.
“As a region there could be a few things that could be done together but I think individually in each of these countries we need to take into considerations the constraints and the recommendations.
“The ECOWAS Parliament should also recognize their role in society and push for laws that will protect them and recognize their efforts.
“But as a regional body I think there should be a way to enforce mechanisms and monitor how they are implemented and how they are followed.
“And probably come up with a solution on actions to be taken if they are not monitored”, Thappa said.
In her Presentation, Hon. Salimata Ouatara, Charperson, Gender, Social Action and Health Committee, Burkina Faso said jobs in the informal economy in West Africa accounts for 76 per cent of the working population.
Outara said it is the most feminized sector with 53 per cent of informal workers being women and it plays a very important role in the empowerment of women in the ECOWAS region.
She said that it was important for Member States to take seriously capacity building of women in its informal sector to support and strengthen their businesses.
‘As long as women who are the majority in the population are not, or poorly integrated into economic growth, the impact of our State’s efforts on development will be less visible in terms of enrichment of the whole population.
“There is therefore a need to initiate and diversify inclusive, innovative strategies following the evolution of technology, that can contribute to the empowerment of women,” Outara said.
Dr Faye Ndoumbe, Programme Officer, Gender and Civil Society, ECOWAS Commission said there is need to promote advocacy so that laws can be changed in favour of women.
“We have to think of the best strategies and a law within the West African region to promote and protect women’s rights, including those in the informal sector”, Ndoumbe said. (NAN)
Source: parliamentnews360.com
[post_date_unix] => 1618439867 [post_date] => April 14, 2021 [post_modified] => April 14, 2021 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/un-pushes-for-policies-to-protect-women-in-informal-sector/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [615] => Array ( [post_id] => 615 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 616 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/we-need-to-do-more-for-women-ecowas-speaker/ [post_title] => We Need to Do More For Women – ECOWAS Speaker [post_title_attribute] => We Need to Do More For Women – ECOWAS Speaker [post_excerpt] => [post_content] =>By Melvin Tejan Mansaray
His Excellency Honorable Mohamed Sidie Tunis, Speaker of the Fifth Legislature of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has acknowledged that the ECOWAS need to do more in empowering women to hold positions of trust among its member states.
Hon. Tunis was speaking in a joint (with Liberia’s Head of Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Edwin Melvin Snowe) Special Radio talk show on PUMAHFM106.3 upon his arrival in Monrovia, Liberia on Monday 12th April 2021 ahead of the Community Parliament's first 2021 delocalized meeting of joint committees on Social Affairs, Gender and Women’s Empowerment/ Education Science and Culture and/ Health focusing on the theme, “Empowerment of Women in the ECOWAS Region.”
Hon. Tunis said the empowerment of women must not be a matter of lip service but actualization, noting that “ for over twenty-five years since the Beijing Declaration where they spoke about empowering women, it has all been about talk, talk and talk.”
“If you look at even the statistics, let say female participation in politics, it has only moved from about eleven percent to about twenty-three percent for the last twenty-five years, which is abysmal. If we are talking about gender parity, if we are talking about women’s empowerment, we should be doing more than that, but from eleven to twenty percent, it means for the next twenty-five years, we would not even get to fifty percent. In my opinion, we should do more and do a little bit more. We should not talk more. We must engage and come out with concrete ideas, a framework that will guarantee women’s participation in politics that will guarantee the empowerment of women. That is the kind of message I am here to convey,” Hon. Tunis said.
Hon. Tunis noted that women are still not being given leverage, adding that they are still being attacked and abused when they enter into politics, adding that, “ in most cases, there is serious violence against them.” He said if the right atmosphere is not created for women to participate in politics, it will be very difficult to get the number stating that culture among other factors is debarring the progress of women and limiting them only to the kitchen.
The ECOWAS Parliament Speaker, Hon. Tunis said in terms of providing this opportunity for women, the ECOWAS Parliament is now taking the lead, noting, “ we are doing everything possible to ensure that in our flagship programme which is direct universal sufferage, we plan to make it a duty for every country to ensure that first; they have the thirty percent female representation to the ECOWAS Parliament. That is where we are going to start with.”
Hon. Tunis said in reaching their goal of women’s participation, the ECOWAS Parliament intends to employ the strategy of practicalizing words.
“The strategy the ECOWAS is going to use to empower women is to make it a law. We already have the Supplementary Act on Gender Parity, so by using the universal direct suffrage for the election of members of the ECOWAS Parliament, we will use that as mandatory. In other words, if Liberia has ten members in the ECOWAS Parliament, we must ensure and obey the law that makes it mandatory to empower women, at least three women. We start from there and those three women are going to be guaranteed seats, other women can also fight for the other seven seats. So for example, if we are certain with three seats, which is the thirty percent mandatory seats, the seven remaining seats can also be fought for by other women, assuming that one woman gets another among the seven seats, it is forty percent already, that will be a very good beginning,” Hon. Tunis said.
On what is expected as the outcome for the delocalized meeting from the 13th to the 17th, April 2021 in Liberia, Hon. Tunis said: “ In the first place we decided on Liberia because Liberia has already started. Our topic is empowering women in the sub-region and if we are talking about the empowerment of women in the sub-region, Liberia has already started by empowering women by having the first female president of a country in Africa. We have also seen after the election of the first female president, we also saw Liberia electing the first female vice president, so for us in the ECOWAS Parliament, that is huge progress. It is a huge yardstick that we can use to promote women's empowerment .”
However, listeners of the radio show called in to express gratitude to the ECOWAS Speaker for meeting and understanding the plight of the Community’s citizens and appealed that university students, especially women are giving scholarship opportunities, a plea that Hon. Tunis promised to look into it.
Separately, the ECOWAS Speaker was heartily received by a team of ECOWAS officials led by the Community Parliament's Chief of Protocol Ezekiel, and a representative of the Liberian House of Representatives, and President George O. Weah, Hon. Snowe and a team of journalists at the Mano River Bridge where he was escorted by a convoy of Liberian National Police officers to several locations. He met with West Africans in Liberia who complained about immigration officers extorting monies from them, visited a school and a hospital at Bomi County where he separately donated five thousand dollars each. He also paid a private visit to Senator Snowe’s one thousand acre oil palm plantation, office, houses, and above all, his (Hon. Tunis) ancestral home, Fassi Community in honor of his late uncle, Muniru Nyei.
Apparently, the delocalized meeting is to commence on Tuesday 13th, April 2021, and on Friday 16th, April 2021, Hon. Tunis’ former university would be conferring him with an honorary doctorate degree.
Source: parliamentnews360.com
[post_date_unix] => 1618281422 [post_date] => April 13, 2021 [post_modified] => April 13, 2021 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/we-need-to-do-more-for-women-ecowas-speaker/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [610] => Array ( [post_id] => 610 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 611 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/ecoparl-to-take-action-on-women-empowerment-25-years-after-beijing-declaration-speaker-tunis/ [post_title] => ECOPARL to take Action on Women Empowerment 25 Years After Beijing Declaration – Speaker Tunis [post_title_attribute] => ECOPARL to take Action on Women Empowerment 25 Years After Beijing Declaration – Speaker Tunis [post_excerpt] => [post_content] =>From Omonu Nelson, Liberia-Sierra Leone boarder
The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mohamed Sidie Tunis has reiterated the need for concrete and deliberate actions on Women Empowerment, 25 years after Beijing Declaration.
Speaker Tunis, who was on his way to Liberia for the Delocalized meeting on Women’s Empowerment, made this declaration on Monday 12 April, 2021 at the Mano River Bridge, when he was received by a delegation, consisting of ECOWAS staff and journalists.
He said there couldn't have been a better venue for the Delocalised meeting than Liberia. This he said is against the backdrop of Liberia’s serial feats of electing women into prominent political positions.
"Liberia is the most suitable country to host the Delocalised meeting on Women Empowerment because it was Liberia that blaised the trail in 2015, with the election of Africa's First Female President, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson.
"Few years later, another woman was elected Vice President by Liberians." According to the Speaker, this is no mean feats by Liberia and deserved to be reciprocated."
While receiving the Speaker on behalf of the Liberian Parliament and President George Weah, at the Mano River Bridge, the border between Liberia and Sierra Leone, a member of the Liberian Parliament and leader of the country's delegation to ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe, explained the significance of receiving the Speaker on Mano Bridge, adding that it was Mano Bridge that was used to transport weapons into Liberia during the Civil War. Its on the same Mano River Bridge that we are receiving the Speaker into our country," Snowe said.
He assured the security team, which accompanied the Speaker to the border of his security and safety.
"I assure you, the Speaker is at home in Liberia, and there is absolutely no need for reservation.
In another development, Senator Snowe on Sunday, treated journalists and ECOWAS Parliament staff to a sumptuous buffet at his Sea side beach residence, where he welcomed them to the Liberty and Freedom country.
He urged all to feel at home as according to him, Liberia is safe and belongs to all of us.
Source: parliamentnews360.com
[post_date_unix] => 1618279371 [post_date] => April 13, 2021 [post_modified] => April 13, 2021 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/ecoparl-to-take-action-on-women-empowerment-25-years-after-beijing-declaration-speaker-tunis/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [582] => Array ( [post_id] => 582 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 583 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/adoption-of-2020-2024-strategic-plan-at-first-extraordinary-session-of-ecowas-parliament/ [post_title] => Adoption of (2020-2024) Strategic Plan at First Extraordinary Session of ECOWAS Parliament [post_title_attribute] => Adoption of (2020-2024) Strategic Plan at First Extraordinary Session of ECOWAS Parliament [post_excerpt] => [post_content] =>The opening ceremony of the first Extraordinary Session 2021 of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) took place Monday, March 29, 2021 in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.
The main topic of this Session: adoption of the strategic plan (2020-2024) of the Fifth Legislature of ECOWAS Parliament.
The strategic plan is a framework for guiding programs and activities of the parliament for the current legislative term. It clearly states the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the institution. It takes into account the achievements of previous legislatures and takes into consideration the major political, economic, social and environmental changes taking place in the West African region and in the world.
Two important communications are also planned during this parliamentary meeting. The first deals with “the general situation of youth in the ECOWAS region”. Commissioner responsible for social and gender affairs of the ECOWAS Commission, Siga Fatima Jagne, will make this presentation. The second presentation was on “the evolution of COVID-19 pandemic in the ECOWAS Community”. The Director General of the West African Health Organization (WAHO), Stanley Okolo, will deliver the presentation.
The opening ceremony of the Session was graced by the presence of the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio. He was joined by the Chairman of the National Transitional Council of Mali, Malick Diaw, Speaker of the National Assembly of Guinea, Amadou Damaro Camara, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou, and the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Sidie Mohamed Tunis.
Speaker Tunis, a Sierra Leonean national, said he was “overwhelmed with joy and moved by a great sense of happiness” for holding this meeting in his country. Beyond the emotion, he stressed the need for the parliament to adopt this four-year strategic plan (2020-2024) “The Strategic Plan will provide guidance in decision-making and resource allocation to enable Parliament to achieve its objectives,” he said.
The election of ECOWAS Members of Parliament by direct universal suffrage is a key policy agenda of Speaker Tunis’ term. “Direct election by the people we serve, gives leaders a sense of responsibility and makes them realize that they have been chosen by the people to play a patriotic and dedicated role,” he said. He asked President Julius Maada Bio to “spearhead” the cause at the ECOWAS Conference of Heads of State and Government.
The Sierra Leonean President was receptive to this request. “I share the view that direct universal suffrage promotes accountability in the representation process,” he said. Five MPs from Ghana (Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin; Abdul-Aziz Ayaba Musah; Johnson Kwaku Adu; Laadi Ayii Ayamba; Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah) and one from Nigeria (Ajayi Borrofice) were sworn in during the ceremony. They are now full Members of the Community Parliament.
[post_date_unix] => 1617619555 [post_date] => April 5, 2021 [post_modified] => April 5, 2021 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/adoption-of-2020-2024-strategic-plan-at-first-extraordinary-session-of-ecowas-parliament/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [579] => Array ( [post_id] => 579 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 580 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/speaker-tunis-makes-direct-election-of-ecowas-mps-his-flagship-political-program/ [post_title] => Speaker Tunis makes Direct Election of ECOWAS MPs his Flagship Political Program [post_title_attribute] => Speaker Tunis makes Direct Election of ECOWAS MPs his Flagship Political Program [post_excerpt] => [post_content] =>Aware of the important role that an elected parliament plays in facilitating people’s participation in regional governance, the Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Sidie Mohamed Tunis, has made the election of members of parliament by direct universal suffrage the political flagship program of his term.
In his address at the opening ceremony of the 1st Special Session 2021 of the Community Parliamentary in Freetown, Speaker Tunis expressed his commitment to the realization of this political ideal. “Direct election by the people we serve gives leaders a sense of responsibility and makes them realize that they have been chosen by the people to play a patriotic and dedicated role,” he said.
In his speech at the opening of the inaugural Session of the 5th legislature on March 9, 2020 in Niamey, President Mahamoudou Issoufou of Niger, then Chairman of the Conference of Heads of State and Government, had strongly emphasized the need to elect Community MPs by direct universal suffrage. “In order to strengthen your role in the ECOWAS region, we must accelerate your election by direct universal suffrage. This will give more power to our regional parliament. “He advocated.
In this view and in response to the call from the Nigerian president, Speaker Tunis has set up an ad ‘hoc committee of sixteen deputies to begin discussions on the election of community MPs by direct universal suffrage. The committee held its first meeting from December 8 to 12, 2020 in Lagos, Nigeria.
In the report, the ad hoc committee, on the basis of the texts of the parliament which advocate the election of Community MPs by direct universal suffrage, recommends putting an end to the election of Members of the ECOWAS Parliament by National Parliaments and to the dual mandate of MPs in the community parliament.
Indeed, under Article 18 of the Supplementary Act of December 2016 on the strengthening of the powers of Parliament, 115 members of the Community Assembly are elected by direct universal suffrage by citizens of Member States. Until the election is effective, National Assemblies of Member States or equivalent bodies elect ECOWAS MPs from among their Members.
Thus, to be a member of ECOWAS Parliament, one must first be a Member of Parliament in one’s own country, hence the dual mandate.
By placing this legislature under the sign of the transition to universal suffrage for ECOWAS Members of Parliament, Speaker Tunis intends to end the dual mandate and give the Community Parliament full representativeness due to its rank. The commitment was welcomed by the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, who “shares the view that direct universal suffrage promotes accountability in the representation process.
[post_date_unix] => 1617576211 [post_date] => April 4, 2021 [post_modified] => April 4, 2021 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/speaker-tunis-makes-direct-election-of-ecowas-mps-his-flagship-political-program/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [513] => Array ( [post_id] => 513 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 516 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/ecowas-parliament-advocates-direct-universal-suffrage-for-members/ [post_title] => ECOWAS Parliament Advocates Direct Universal Suffrage for Members [post_title_attribute] => ECOWAS Parliament Advocates Direct Universal Suffrage for Members [post_excerpt] => [post_content] =>The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has set up an ad hoc committee to propose mechanisms to make the election of its Members effective by direct universal suffrage. On Monday, 18 January 2021, the Parliament adopted the report of this committee during its 2020 Second Ordinary Session which held via videoconference from 13 to 19 January, 2021.
In its report, the ad hoc committee recalls the fundamental principles of elections which must be free, transparent and fair. Aware of the fact that all the texts of the Parliament advocate the election of the Community Members of Parliament by direct universal suffrage, the committee recommends ending the dual mandate of Members in the ECOWAS Parliament and guaranteeing the representativeness of the Community Parliament.
The committee is proposing two voting methods for this. Community elections could be organized as is the case in the European Union; each member state electing Community Members of Parliament in accordance with national electoral laws. Another possibility would be to have Community elections governed by a common electoral system.
The ad hoc committee, in its report, recommends that Parliament do everything in its power to achieve the election of its Members by direct universal suffrage before the end of the fifth legislature (March 2024); continue the study on the election of representatives by direct universal suffrage; organize thematic meetings on specific areas such as financing, the electoral code, the code of conduct and the conditions to be fulfilled to take part in the elections.
The commission also recommends appointing a prominent Community figure as a leader to lead the advocacy process; to conduct consultations with the main institutional actors such as the Conference of Heads of State, the Council of Ministers, the Commission and the Court of Justice of ECOWAS; organize study visits to similar regional institutions to learn from their experiences and carry out advocacy with these institutions.
Under Article 18 of the Additional Act of December 2016 on the Strengthening of the Prerogatives of Parliament, the 115 members of the Community Assembly are elected by direct universal suffrage by the citizens of the Member States. While waiting for this system to take effect, the National Assemblies of the Member States or the institutions or equivalent bodies elect the deputies from within them at the moment.
[post_date_unix] => 1615843361 [post_date] => March 15, 2021 [post_modified] => March 15, 2021 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/ecowas-parliament-advocates-direct-universal-suffrage-for-members/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) [510] => Array ( [post_id] => 510 [post_type] => post [has_post_thumbnail] => 1 [post_thumbnail_id] => 511 [post_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/ecowas-parliament-supports-transition-process-in-mali/ [post_title] => ECOWAS Parliament supports Transition Process in Mali [post_title_attribute] => ECOWAS Parliament supports Transition Process in Mali [post_excerpt] => [post_content] =>The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) undertook a parliamentary briefing on the transition process in Mali, from February 25 to March 5, 2021 in Bamako, the capital of Mali. The president of the community parliament, Sidie Mohamed Tunis, led this parliamentary mission.
The mission, during its stay, gathered the necessary information from all stakeholders on the evolution of the transition process, in particular from the transition bodies.
ECOWAS parliamentarians are also actively involved with all stakeholders in order to contribute to the achievement of a national consensus around the priorities of the transition so as to identify the constraints and support the efforts already undertaken in view of lasting stability in Mali.
In the Malian capital, the parliamentary mission had working sessions with members of the National Transitional Council (NTC), the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization as well as with actors from political parties and civil society.
The Prime Minister, the President of the NTC as well as the Minister for Malians Abroad and African Integration granted audiences to the parliamentary mission.
Mali has been experiencing a multidimensional crisis since March 2012. The presidential election organized in July-August 2018 and the legislative elections in March 2020 were strongly contested by the political opposition then grouped within the Front for the Protection of Democracy (FSD) .
The various mediation actions undertaken by ECOWAS through its special envoy, Goodluck Jonathan, former President of Nigeria, have not made it possible to contain the crisis on a lasting basis. Thus, following a series of demonstrations organized in June and July 2020 by the opposition grouped within the Movement of June 5, Rassemblement des Forces Patriotiques (M5-RFP), a group of officers of the Malian army operated a coup on August 18, 2020.
ECOWAS has made significant efforts to restore constitutional and republican order. Following intense negotiations, an eighteen-month transition was agreed to by consensus with a transitional president and vice-president, a government and a transitional national council serving as the provisional legislature.
[post_date_unix] => 1615841782 [post_date] => March 15, 2021 [post_modified] => March 15, 2021 [post_author_url] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/author/parliamentnews360/ [post_author_name] => Clement Akoloh [post_author_email] => senaakoloh@gmail.com [post_comments_no] => 0 [post_comments_link] => https://parliamentnews360.com/index.php/ecowas-parliament-supports-transition-process-in-mali/#respond [post_theme_settings] => Array ( ) ) ) [loop_pagination] => Array ( [pagenavi_options] => Array ( [pages_text] => Page %CURRENT_PAGE% of %TOTAL_PAGES% [current_text] => %PAGE_NUMBER% [page_text] => %PAGE_NUMBER% [first_text] => 1 [last_text] => %TOTAL_PAGES% [next_text] => [prev_text] => [dotright_text] => ... [dotleft_text] => ... [num_pages] => 3 [always_show] => 1 ) [paged] => 3 [max_page] => 4 [start_page] => 2 [end_page] => 4 [pages_to_show] => 3 [previous_posts_link] => [next_posts_link] => ) [category_id] => 35 )
