Africa-Press – Angola. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIP) elects this Friday, in Luanda, the new president of the organization, replacing the Portuguese Duarte Pacheco, with four African women running for the three-year term (2023/2026.
These are Adji Diarra Mergane Kanouté, from Senegal, Catherine Gotani Hara, from Malawi, Tulia Ackson, from Tanzania, and Marwa Abdibashir Hagi, from Somalia.
Historic election
It is the first time in the history of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIP) that an election will take place with only female candidates and all from the African continent.
The competitors, who developed an intense electoral campaign to attract votes, were audited on Thursday, a moment that served to express their desires and objectives in favor of the multilateral organization.
Duarte Pacheco, as outgoing president of the UIP, moderated the debate, in the company of the president of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, who placed the candidates side by side in the Noble Hall of the National Assembly.
Tulia Ackson, current Speaker of the Parliament of Tanzania, said that if elected, she will improve the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of the IPU, accelerate reforms within the organization, with a view to peaceful coexistence and global prosperity.
Likewise, it seeks effective participation and representation of geopolitical groups in IPU bodies, as well as increasing the representation of women in national parliaments. It also aims for the inclusion of the USA in the IPU.
The lawyer and academic also chairs the African Geopolitical group at the UIP and the Investment Council of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) for the African region. She is one of the strong candidates to succeed the Portuguese Duarte Pacheco in the position.
Tulia Ackson is the second woman to preside over the National Assembly of Tanzania, after Anne Makinda, from 2010 to 2015.
Candidate Catherine Gotani Hara, from Malawi, has been president of her country’s Parliament since June 2019, being the first woman to hold the position.
The Malawi competitor has more than 15 years of political experience, having entered politics in 2003.
She stated that, if she is elected to the “top chair” of the IPU, she will pay special attention to Nations considered small and provide a quick and effective response to problems occurring in the world.
On the other hand, the competitor from Senegal, Adji Diarra Mergane Kanouté, with government experience in her country, defended, during the hearing, the scrupulous respect for fundamental human rights.
She said she was fit to preside over the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIP) and face the challenges of the multilateral institution.
In relation to Marwa Abdibashir Hagi, candidate from Somalia, the possibility was raised that she had given up running for president of the IPU, but she participated in the hearing that took place in the Noble Hall of the National Assembly.
In a surprising move, the speaker of the Somali parliament withdrew his support for Marwa Abdi Bashir Hagi’s candidacy in the (UIP) presidential election, which initially received strong support in Somalia and in parliament.
According to sources accompanying the dossier, President Madobe wrote a letter dated October 24th to the UIP announcing Marwa Abdi Hagi’s decision to withdraw from the race.
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