Senator Chief Charumbira of Zimbabwe has been elected to be the President and Speaker of the Pan-African Parliament. He becomes the 5th President after Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang of Chad.
The President-elect has served as a member of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) since its inception in 2004, and was elected to become one of the four Vice Presidents representing the in 2018.
During his time in PAP he has served as the Pan-African Parliament Chairperson of the Committee responsible for Audit, Public Accounts, and Administrative Performance for 8 years. He has also been a member of PAP’s Committee on Cooperation, International Relations, and Conflict Resolution for more than 12 years.
In 2021, H.E. Chief Charumbira was nominated unopposed to become the Acting President of the continental body after elections broke down over the rotation principle. During this period, Chief Charumbira led the revival of the African Parliament by organizing committee meetings and reactivating the Bureau and the Bureaxes meetings.
Dignitaries, industry leaders and supporters from across the continent are sending their congratulatory messages on social media.
Dr. Maurice Ezuruike who was senior parliamentary adviser to the 3rd president PAP, the late Hon. Bethel Nnaemeka Amandi of Nigeria, has expressed his congratulations to the President-Elect. “This is particularly a testament to the impeccable leadership, tenacious and resilient disposition of Chief Senator Charumbira who left no stone unturned in all AU diplomatic and political channels for the pursuit of equity and restoration of fairness at PAP anchored on the effective implementation of the AU principle on Rotation”, he said.
He has also congratulated the Pan-African Parliament for the display of unity over the principle of rotation shown today.
“This is a victory to all PAP MP’s who firmly resisted efforts to undermine the implementation of the principle of rotation. It would have been a contradiction of PAP’s foundational principle that as an institution reputed with protecting the rule of law, adherence to democratic tenets and principle of representative democracy, it is allowed to disregard AU rules, regulations, and decisions that promotes equity & fairness”, said Dr. Ezuruike.
