Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty

Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained Multiparty Democracy
Third, the Pan-African Parliament has no legislative powers. It is role is consultative
and advisory on policy agendas put forward by the heads of states and the Council
of Ministers. It is an institution without teeth, and will have little effect, if any, on
the ability of the AU, let alone the member states, to tackle the challenges of the 21st
century which give birth to the AU and the PAP as a sign of a significant shift from
the authoritarian manner in which the continent’s affairs are conducted to the age of
democracy, good governance, human rights and the rule of law.
4.6.2 The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA)
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is best described as the reincarnation
of the East African Community, established between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
and disbanded in 1977. The treaty on the establishment of the East African
Community (EAC) was signed on 1999, with the main objective ‘to develop
policies and programmes aimed at widening and deepening co-operation among
the three partner states in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research
and technology, defence, security and legal and judicial affairs, for their mutual
benefit’ (article 5.1). Furthermore, ‘The Community will have a Customs Union,
a Common Market and a Monetary Union as transitional stages, and ultimately, a
political Federation of the three states’ (article 5.2). The EAC is set to establish various
organs and institutions—the Summit, the Council, the Co-ordination Committee,
Sectoral Committees, the East African Court of Justice, the East African Legislative
Assembly and the Secretariat (article 9.1).
This section introduces the EALA and its relationship to political parties, and
examines whether it has succeeded in creating pan-East African party-to-party
partnerships.
The EALA was inaugurated together with the East African Court of Justice in
Arusha, Tanzania, on 29 November 2001. It consists of 27 elected members (nine
from each country), three ex officio members (the three national ministers responsible
for regional cooperation), and the secretary general of the EAC Council. Unlike
the European Union, where population size is taken into account, the EALA gives
equal representation to each country regardless of population size. However, the
three countries make equal financial contributions for the running of the Assembly’s
affairs and programmes (which is not the case in the EU). In common with the
Pan-African Parliament, the EALA is subservient to the executive (i.e. the Council
and the Summit) who hold the real power over the running of the EAC’s affairs;
moreover, the 27 parliamentarians represent only token representation and cannot
reflect the diversity of the countries they represent, let alone the whole East African
sub-region.