The SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), the regional organization of the national Parliaments of SADC Member States announces the arrival on 23 August 2012, of its 22- member delegation to observe the 31 August 2012 General Elections in the Republic of Angola. The arrival of the delegation is at the invitation of the Electoral Commission of Angola. This is the 28th.

SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM

TERMS OF REFERENCE For Rapporteur "LEADERSHIP AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN" RWPC Advocacy and Lobbying Missions to Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe

These Terms of Reference will serve as the contractual agreement for rapporteuring during the RWPC Advocacy and Lobbying Missions, which will be undertaken in Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe

INTRODUCTION

The project seeks to bring more women into political and decision making positions by engaging political parties to review their manifestos and constitutions to see to it that they appreciate and articulate gender equality issues and to facilitate the review of the existing status quo in order to accelerate the achievement of the objectives of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

It is hoped that the ultimate results of this intervention will be that political parties and national parliaments create conditions that promote women political participation and ascension to leadership positions and a strong and well functioning multi-party Women Parliamentary Caucuses.

The Regional Women's Parliamentary Caucus as an established organ of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, provides an institutional framework to follow up on the political commitments on the equal participation and representation of women in positions of power and decision making at all levels as articulated in the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development (2008).

All the evidence from the SADC region and experiences around the globe demonstrates that the political participation and effective representation of women in positions of power and decision making at all levels has not yet happened. Rather, it is accelerated by multi dimensional strategies that build and inculcate the democratic governance ideal which implies the participation and contribution of all parts of the population without regard to class, sex, gender, ethnic or religious background.

The political participation and representation of women, who constitute more than half of the populations of SADC countries will necessarily imply an important democratic advance which is worthy of the SADC Parliamentary Forum to pursue in line with its 2011-2015 Strategy. This is premised in the Forum's recognition that attention to the political participation and representation of women in positions of power and decision making is essential to achieving gender equality and sound democratic governance in the region

Due to the fact that progress is slow and in some instances the small gains are being eroded, the SADC Parliamentary Forum has adopted measures that accelerate the transformation of electoral systems, political parties' constitutions and intra-party democracy processes from a gender perspective. The advocacy for women's political participation and representation in elective positions through political parties' constitutions and policies reforms, electoral reforms targeting electoral laws and systems reviews from a gender perspective, especially in the countries scheduled to have elections is expected to contribute to conducive environments that facilitate women's political participation and representation in the SADC region towards the goal of gender equality in parliament by 2015.

08th-16th, JULY 2012
"STRENGTHENING PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY"

1. The SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) 31st Plenary Assembly was held in Maputo, Mozambique, from the 8th to the 16th of July 2012, under the theme "Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy".

2. The Plenary Assembly was attended by 13 SADC member Parliaments namely; Angola, Botswana, The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The 31st Plenary Assembly duly noted an apology from the Parliament of the Republic of Seychelles.

3. Welcoming delegates to the 31st Plenary Assembly, the Secretary General of SADC PF, Dr.

Esau Chiviya, underscored that Parliaments are the building blocks for democracy and 
therefore called for the necessary constitutional, legal, normative and institutional arrangements to be put in place in order to strengthen their institutional independence and operational efficiency in line with the theme.

4. In her remarks during the 31st Plenary Assembly, Hon. Beatrice Nyamupinga, Chairperson of the Regional Women's Parliamentary Caucus (RWPC), lauded SADC member States that have integrated the African Women's Decade (2010-2020) under the auspices of the African Union, into their national agendas.

Hon. Nyamupinga further called upon SADC member States to accelerate the ratification of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development in order to facilitate its implementation. 
5. In her welcoming remarks, the host Speaker, Hon. Veronica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, Speaker of the National Assembly of Mozambique, observed that the theme "Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy" is vital for strengthening democracy in SADC. 
Further, Hon. Dlhovo re-affirmed the National Assembly of Mozambique's commitment to the establishment of a SADC Regional Parliament, adding that such a Parliament would strengthen friendship, peace and stability in the Region and aid regional integration.

6. Hon. Lovemore Moyo, Chairperson of the SADC PF and Speaker of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe, reiterated the need for Parliaments to remain open and responsive in the performance of their duties in order to promote democracy and good governance.

Hon. Moyo reiterated the need for SADC to establish its Regional Parliament in order to accelerate the implementation of decisions of the Summit of Heads of State and Government for the benefit of SADC citizens. The Chairperson therefore called for continuous dialogue with the SADC Heads of State on the need to amend the SADC Treaty to include the establishment of a SADC Regional Parliament alongside other SADC institutions established in accordance with Article 9(1).

7. Officially opening the 31st Plenary Assembly, the Guest of Honour, His Excellency Armando Emilio Guebuza, President of the Republic of Mozambique, lauded SADC's deep rooted unity and praised the SADC PF for offering a regional parliamentary platform for political engagement and dialogue.

H.E. President Guebuza underscored that the 31st Plenary Assembly's theme, "Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy", aptly captures SADC Parliaments' common goal of responding to the needs of the citizens by monitoring and assisting Governments in the implementation of public policies and programmes. In this regard, he called upon the SADC PF to maintain its role in strengthening parliamentary democracy in the SADC Region.

8. Delivering a vote of thanks during the 31st Plenary Assembly official opening ceremony, Rt.

Hon. Henry Chimunthu Banda, Speaker of the National Assembly of Malawi, expressed 
appreciation for the role that Mozambique, a founding member of SADC, is playing in facilitating regional integration. He also expressed hope that the issue of a SADC Parliament will be discussed at the SADC Summit to held in Maputo in August 2012.

9. Addressing the Plenary Assembly deliberative session, Mr Murumba Werunga, Emeritus Clerk, Parliament of Kenya, who heads the Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training, urged Parliamentarians as the elected representatives of the people, to prioritise the needs and aspirations of the people in their work, thereby strengthening parliamentary democracy and good governance in SADC.

Mr. Werunga implored SADC Parliaments to continue instituting legislative reforms in order to strengthen their institutional independence and operational efficiency. 
10. SADC member Parliaments, in presenting their Country Reports to the 31st Plenary Assembly, emphasised the need for respecting the principle of separation of powers between the three arms of Government as a way of strengthening democracy within SADC countries. They therefore called for legislative reforms to be sustained in order to strengthen the role of Parliament in building functional and sustainable democracies in the Region.

11. In pursuit of SADC PF's transformation to a Regional Parliament, the Plenary Assembly resolved that from the 33rd Plenary Assembly, all its Sessions will be changed from the current conference style to start operating like a Parliament, thus adopting parliamentary procedures. 
12. The 31st Plenary Assembly adopted the Benchmarking and Self-Assessment Toolkit, paving way for implementation of the Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures in Southern Africa. In adopting the Self-Assessment Toolkit, the 31st Plenary Assembly noted that it is a useful reference instrument for National Parliaments to transform and become more democratic institutions.

13. The Plenary congratulated the people of the Kingdom of Lesotho for holding credible elections and for respecting the will of the people as demonstrated by the acceptance of results and the smooth transfer of power, adding that this is a good practice that should be emulated by other countries in the Region and the continent.

14. The Plenary Assembly further noted with satisfaction the continued and enhanced cooperation between the SADC PF and the SADC Secretariat which serves to enhance the implementation of SADC Protocols and other decisions for the benefit of SADC citizens.

15. Plenary Assembly noted with gratitude the progress made in mobilising resource for the implementation of SADC PF Programmes and thus welcomed the support from the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), Friederich- Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Open Society Institute for Southern Africa (OSISA), Swedish Agency for International Development (SIDA) and UN Women. The Plenary encouraged other international cooperating partners and the private sector in SADC to support Parliaments as a way of strengthening parliamentary democracy.

16. The 31st Plenary Assembly thanked the National Assembly and people of Mozambique for the warm hospitality extended to delegates during the 31st Plenary. 
17. The 32nd Plenary Assembly of the SADC PF will be hosted by the Parliament of the Republic of Malawi in October 2012.

Issued at Polana Serena Hotel, Maputo, Republic of Mozambique

14th July, 2012

Mozambique hosts the 31st SADC PF Plenary Assembly SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) wishes to announce that the National Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique will be hosting the 31st Plenary Assembly of the Forum from 09 to 16 July 2012 at Hotel Polana in Maputo.

The SADC PF 31st Plenary Assembly will be held under the theme “Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy” and it seeks to ensure greater parliamentary role in enhancing participatory democracy and good governance in SADC.

The Secretary General of SADC PF, Dr Esau Chiviya explained that this theme is timely as it comes at a time when National Parliaments in SADC have adopted the Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures in Southern Africa which is a standards instrument meant to guide legislatures to transform themselves into democratic and effective institutions.

The Plenary Assembly will among other things, consider the Benchmarking and Self-Assessment Toolkit which is an implementation tool to guide SADC Parliaments as they seek to domesticate and institutionalise the Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures in Southern Africa and in so doing strengthen parliamentary democracy in SADC countries.

The 31st Plenary Assembly will be officially opened by Mozambique President, His Excellency Armando Emilio Guebuza on Friday, 13 July, 2012. Chairperson of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, Hon. Lovemore Moyo, who is also Speaker of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe and the host

Speaker, Hon. Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo will also address delegates during the Official Opening Session.

The biannual event will be attended by Speakers and Parliamentarians from the 14 SADC Parliaments namely the host Mozambique as well as Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Ends//

Issued by the Office of the Secretary General on Friday 06 July 2012 in Windhoek

The SADC Parliamentary Forum wishes to inform the media and other stakeholders that it will hold a Press Conference to present its Interim Statement on the 2012 Lesotho National Assembly Elections on 28 May 2012 at The Lehakoe Club at 1600hrs.

Guests must be seated by 1620hrs.

Issued by the SADC Parliamentary Forum Secretary General, Dr. Esau Chiviya

For further details please: Mr. Sheuneni Kurasha, Mission Coordinator

Ithute Room Maseru Sun Hotel

Mobile No. +266 574 39764

Email: / 

Following an invitation by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) constituted an Election Observation Mission to observe the 26th May 2012 National Assembly Elections in Lesotho. The 22-Member Mission was in the country from 15th to 29th May 2012. It was composed of 10 Members of Parliament, 7 Parliamentary staff from SADC Parliaments and 5 staff from the Forum’s Secretariat. The Mission comprised male and female Members of Parliament from both the ruling and opposition political parties from Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This is the third time that the SADC Parliamentary Forum has observed National Assembly Elections in Lesotho, having previously observed the May 2002 and February 2007 Elections.

The Mission Leader for the SADC PF Election Observation Mission was Hon. Mkhululi Dlamini, a Member of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Swaziland and Treasurer of the SADC PF.

The 2012 Lesotho National Assembly Election is the 27th election to be observed by SADC PF since 1999 when the Forum started observing elections in SADC Member States. Previously, the Forum observed the following elections: Mozambique and Namibia (1999); Mauritius, Zimbabwe and Tanzania (2000); Zambia (2001); Zimbabwe and Lesotho (2002); Malawi, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique (2004); Mauritius and Tanzania (2005); Zambia, DRC and Madagascar (2006); Lesotho (2007); Malawi, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia (2009), Mauritius (2010); and Zambia (2011).

Vice President of SADC Parliamentary Forum & Senator of Parliament of Zimbabwe.

Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos (born 5 March 1950), known as Nandó, is an Angolan politician who was Vice President of Angola from February 2010 to September 2012. He was the Prime Minister of Angola from 2002 to 2008 and President of the National Assembly of Angola from 2008 to 2010. He has again served as President of the National Assembly since 2012.

Piedade is a cousin of President José Eduardo dos Santos. His parents emigrated to Angola from São Tomé and Príncipe. He obtained a BA in Law in 2009 at Agostinho Neto University in Angola.

In 1971, Piedade joined the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Following Angola's independence from Portugal in 1975 he began a career in the People's Police Corps of Angola, becoming a division head in 1978. In 1981 he moved to the Ministry of the Interior, becoming Deputy Minister in 1984. The following year he was elected as a member of the MPLA-Workers' Party congress and given the rank of colonel in the Angolan military. He later became a member of the People's Assembly, beginning a succession of appointments to government ministerial posts.

After having served as Interior Minister since 1999, Piedade was appointed as Prime Minister in November 2002 and took office on December 6, 2002. The office of Prime Minister had previously been unoccupied for three years.

Piadade was the 14th candidate on the MPLA's national list in the September 2008 parliamentary election.^[1][2] In the election, the MPLA won an overwhelming majority, and Piedade was elected to a seat in the National Assembly.^[2]

Following the 2008 election, the MPLA Political Bureau chose Piedade to become the President of the National Assembly on September 26, 2008. It also chose Paulo Kassoma to replace Piedade as Prime Minister.^[3][4] On September 30, the newly elected members of the National Assembly met and were sworn in; Piedade was elected as President of the National Assembly on this occasion, receiving 211 votes in favor and three opposed.^[5]

On January 21, 2010, the National Assembly approved a new constitution that would increase presidential powers, eliminate the office of Prime Minister, and eliminate popular elections for the office of President. Piedade described the National Assembly's adoption of the constitution as a "historic moment".^[6] President dos Santos then appointed Piedade to the newly established office of Vice-President of Angola on February 3, 2010. Having long served as a close and powerful associate of dos Santos, his appointment as Vice-President made it appear more likely that he was being envisioned as the eventual successor to dos Santos. However, dos Santos had already been designated as the MPLA candidate for President in 2012, suggesting that he had no intention of retiring.^[7]

In 2012, Manuel Vicente, who had headed the state oil company Sonangol, was believed to have been selected by the President as his likely successor.^[8][9] Vicente was designated as the second candidate on the MPLA's list of parliamentary candidates, making him the party's nominee for the post of Vice-President.^[10] Following the MLPA's victory in the 2012 parliamentary election, Vicente took office as Vice President on 26 September 2012, succeeding Piedade.^[11] A day later, on 27 September 2012, Piedade was instead elected as President of the National Assembly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_da_Piedade_Dias_dos_Santos

The Parliament of Botswana consists of the President and the National Assembly.^[1] In contrast to other Parliamentary systems, the Parliament elects the President directly (instead of having both a ceremonial President and a Prime Minister who has real authority as head of government) for a set five-year term of office. There are no term limits. The President is both head of State and of Government in Botswana's parliamentary republican system. The current President of Botswana is Ian Khama, who assumed the Presidency on 1 April 2008 and won a full five-year term in the postceding Botswana General elections, which were held on 16 October 2009 and returned his Botswana Democratic Party with a majority of 35 (total of 45) seats in the 61 seat Parliament.

There also exists a body known as Ntlo ya Dikgosi, (The House of Chiefs), which is an advisory body that does not form part of the Parliament.

Botswana is one of the two only nations on the African continent since the end of colonial rule to have achieved a clean record of free and fair elections since independence, having held 10 elections since 1966 without any serious incidents of corruption. The other is Mauritius.

The National Assembly is the legislature Botswana's unicameral Parliament. It is advised by the Ntlo ya Dikgosi (Tswana for "House of Chiefs"), which is not a house of Parliament.

The current National Assembly, formed following elections held on 16 October 2009, has a total of 63 members. 57 members are directly elected in single-member constituencies using the simple majority (or First-past-the-post) system for a term of five years. Four members are co-opted (by secret ballot of the rest of the Assembly) while the remaining two (the President and Attorney-general) are ex officio.

Previous National Assembly election results

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Botswana