EAC STATES TO RALLY BEHIND DR. TULIA FOR IPU PRESIDENCY

BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

The East African Community (EAC) bloc will rally behind Dr. Tulia Ackson for the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) presidency contest.

Speakers from the seven partner states meeting here resolved in Arusha last week to unanimously support her bid for the position.

"Our priority is to get our East African to win the job", said Joseph Ntakarutimana, the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).

He told a meeting of the EAC Speakers' Bureau taking place at an Arusha hotel that her victory would be a win for the region.

Dr. Ackson, who is the Speaker of the National Assembly, has been fronted by Tanzania to contest the IPU presidency post.

Elections of the new president of the international organization of  national parliaments will take place in Angola in October this year.

The government said it was strongly backing her for the contest given her unmatched qualifications, experience and commitment to democracy.

The IPU is the main decision-making body made up of parliamentarians from around the world and has as its members 179 Parliaments out of the 193 countries with legislative bodies.

It is currently led by a Portuguese national, Mr Duarte Pacheco, expects to select its new leader during the 147th assembly to be held from October 23rd to October 27th in Luanda.

IPU is a key international organ that facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy.

If elected Dr Ackson will lead the organization from 2023 to 2026, and will be the first woman from Africa to hold that prestigious position.

She will also be the first-ever president, hailing from the Eastern Africa sub-region, hence a great push now from the region to have her elected.

Dr. Ackson, herself, took her campaign to the EAC corridors yesterday when she appealed for support to her candidacy.

She requested support in the contest, pledging to put the interests of the region and Africa as a whole if duly elected as IPU President.

Dr. Ackson, who was elected to the position of the National Assembly Speaker early last year, is currently the Chair of the Africa geo-political group of IPU.

"We will support Dr. Tulia. But we need to intensify our campaign as East Africans and Africans to reach out to the world", affirmed Ms Anita Annet Among, the Speaker of Uganda Parliament.

She added that Uganda had already decided to support the Tanzania National Assembly Speaker for the IPU position and expected other EAC members to do the same.

Ms Jemma Nunukumba, the Speaker of South Sudan Parliament said the decision to unanimously rally behind Dr. Ackson was foregone given her abilities.

"She is a competent candidate for the position.Let us use our diplomatic connections to support her", she pointed out.

Some of the tasks ahead of the IPU presidential aspirant include turning it into a more effective, transparent and accountable body by reviewing its statutes, processes, and operations.

Others include spearheading constructive reforms in the IPU that would make the organization more effective in promoting peaceful coexistence and global prosperity.

She would also seek to ensure that the geopolitical groups have a greater say and representation in the various organs of the organization,” she said.

She is determined to use the IPU platform to advocate for increased women representation in parliament, which currently stands at a mere 22 percent, globally.

The 47 year old Dr. Ackson has been in politics since 2015 when she was elected as deputy Speaker of the National Assembly after that year's polls.

 She was re-elected to the position in November 2020 and then succeeded Job Ndugai as Speaker in February 2022 after the latter resigned.

Before throwing her cards into politics, she worked as a senior lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (2004-2015), and had a short stint as deputy Attorney General in 2015.