Pan-African Parliament Scuffle : A U Chair Calls For Calm

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki has called for calm following a scuffle on Monday, May 31, 2021 during a session of the Pan-African Parliament in Midrand (South Africa). In a statement made public late Monday, the Chairperson appealed to the members of the Pan-African Parliament to “recover their composure.” He said, the “shocking scenes of violence" had tarnished “the image of the honourable institution.” The scuffle that lasted more than an hour and broadcast live on South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), was as a result of the failure of members to agree on whether leadership at the helm of the institution should be rotational or direct elections. 
While a delegation of MPs from the Southern and Northern regions of the continent called for the implementation of the rotational policy, which would see the next leader of the continental Parliament coming from these regions, the East Africa and Economic Community of West African States opposed this, saying it was not part of the rules and rejected legal advice which supported the implementation of the principle. 
Basing their arguments on the fundamental principles of the AU and recommendations from its legal department, the south and northern bloc said, “One of the principles of the AU when it comes to electing leadership is the principle of rotation. That no one, or a few, regions should be allowed to have all the power to run the work of the Pan-African Parliament, or have ...