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MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA – Hon Djidda Mamar Mahamat of Chad was re-elected as the Pan Africa Parliament (PAP)’s Fourth Vice President today in Midrand South Africa, with the continental body declaring its solidarity for the cessation of the war in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Addressing the media soon after announcing the victory and swearing in of Hon Mahamat, Chief Fortune Zephaniah Charumbira, the President of PAP, said the vacancy arose as a result of the former fourth vice president who went for elections in his country in Chad.
“In terms of the rules and the protocol of the Pan African Parliament, once a national parliament is dissolved for elections, a member loses the seat. They cease to be members of the Pan-African Parliament and Bureau. So in this case, following the elections in Chad, the delegation of Chad is now back and redeployed at PAP and we had the elections today for that position. Hon Mahamat was the previous fourth vice president. He was retained unanimously in the chamber. He got 115 votes out of 121 votes, which means the victory was thunderous.
“To win, you need to get 50 plus one votes. So in this case, he was supposed to get at least 62 votes, but he got 115, which was quite a big bonus in terms of the number of votes,” Chief Charumbira said.
In his speech upon re-election, Hon Mahamat pledged to work with all members of the Pan-African Parliament to ensure peace and unity on the continent in pursuit of attaining sustainable development.
Turning to the conflict in Eastern DRC, Hon. Felix Mpozeriniga, the Chairperson of the Central Africa Caucus initiated a PAP Declaration that was supported by Hon. Djidda Mamar Mahamat, a Member of the PAP’s Central Africa Caucus.
This was in consideration of Article 17 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union establishing the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to ensure the “full participation of the African peoples in the economic development and integration of the continent.”
It also took into account Article 3 of the Protocol to the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament and Article 4 (a) of the Rules of Procedure of the Pan-African Parliament which empower PAP to facilitate regional cooperation, development, and the promotion of “collective self-reliance and economic recovery” as well as the implementation of the policies, objectives and programmes” of the African Union.
One of the objectives of the Pan-African Parliament is to promote peace, security, and stability to contribute to a more prosperous future for the peoples of Africa.
In DRC, there are continuous attacks and atrocities perpetrated by the rebels of the M23 group in the eastern part of the country, and the people there have been subjected to this violence daily for more than thirty years.
The declaration calls for the respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitutive Act of the African Union. It argues that violence has never been the appropriate way to settle disputes and that the Pan-African Parliament remains firmly committed to supporting all efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It urges the international community, in particular the African Union and the regional economic communities, to redouble their efforts to support the restoration of peace, security, and stability in the hard-hit eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
There are calls for urgent diplomatic intervention to put an end to the atrocious and unjustified attacks against civilian populations, which constitute serious and flagrant violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
All parties involved are called upon to respect the peace and ceasefire agreements that have been signed and to work towards resolving the conflict through dialogue to guarantee the protection of civilians in the regions exposed to these attacks.
