Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang

The Pan African Parliament has elected Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang as its new President replacing Hon. Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi in a tightly contested race. Hon. Nkodo, from Cameroon and formerly the 1st Vice President representing the Central Africa Region Caucus, defeated Hon. Eduardo Joaquim Mulembwe (Mozambique/Southern Region) and Hon. Rahoui Mongi (Tunisia/Northern Region). Nkodo polled 85 to Mulembwe’s 70 and Mongi’s 9 votes.

The election held at the PAP headquarters in Midrand, South Africa, Wednesday, May 27, 2015 ends weeks of wrangling over Nkodo’s eligibility to stand for the position, which is held on a rotational basis from the five Regional Caucuses of Western, Central, Southern, Northern and Eastern.
Following a Motion on rotation of presidents for the institution passed in 2007, it had been expected that only the Northern and Southern regions would field candidates for President, since the other three regions had held the position. The Eastern Caucus had Dr. Gertrude Mongella (Tanzania), followed by Dr. Idriss Ndele (Chad/Central) and the outgoing Amadi from Nigeria/Western Region. The Vice Chairperson of the Southern Region Caucus Hon. Patrick Mwalula Mucheleka said the Southern Region had not fielded candidates for the previous three elections out of respect for the principle of rotation and appealed to colleagues to respect the principle to “serve the interests of the continent, good governance and deepening democracy.”

The Central Region however, argued that it was normal to field a candidate since it was provided for under the Rules. Uganda’s representatives to the PAP are Hon. Onyango Kakoba (NRM, Buikwe North), Hon. Jacquline Amongin (NRM, Ngora district), Hon. Beatrice Barumba (NRM, Kiruhura district), Hon. Sam Amooti Otada (Ind., Kibanda) and Hon. Elijah Okupa (FDC, Kasilo).
The Pan-African Parliament was established in March 2004 by Article 17 of The Constitutive Act of the African Union, as one of the nine Organs provided for in the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. Its establishment was informed by a vision to provide a common platform for African peoples and their grass-roots organizations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent.