Senator Chief Fortune Charumbira of Zimbabwe and the Presidential candidate for Pan-African Parliament, has wrapped up a year-long campaign as the long-awaited elections are only a few days away. Legislators across the continent have started arriving in Midrand, South Africa ahead of the Presidential elections of the Pan-African Parliament.
On Monday, the legislative body of the African Union will be deciding who will become their new Speaker and H.E. Roger Nkodo Dang’s successor after the Cameroonian politician’s suspension in 2019. The then Vice President of the African Parliament, Senator Chief Fortune Zephania Charumbira became the parliament’s speaker in the capacity of acting President, a role he has held for three years owing to the pandemic delays and the breakdown in negotiations at last year’s elections.
Senator Charumbira, who has a track record in institutional reform has raised several issues in his campaign messages including climate change and women’s rights. The manifesto includes a 10-point plan that deals specifically with administration issues and budgeting. As one of the longest-serving members of the parliament, present since its inception in 2004, Chief Charumbira has promised legislators to bring to the table the experience gained as he rose through the ranks of public service in his home country Zimbabwe, and abroad in East Africa.
The just-ended tour saw the campaign taken to Zambia, Seychelles, South Africa, and the embassies of Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Saharawi. The 6th Region of the African Diaspora of the Americas represented by the African Diaspora Union has also thrown weight behind the elections. Charumbira is a powerful traditional leader from the region that is home to the ancient city and trade center of Great Zimbabwe, and the Lemba People. The renowned Pan-Africanist has over his 20 years of leadership has gained a reputation as a unifier at home and abroad, recently being appointed to chair the Gukurahundi Committees set up to investigate human rights crimes and facilitate community justice and reconciliation process in his home country Zimbabwe.
