By Omar Bah
Ecowas Parliamentarians from Senegal, Togo, Cape Verde, Benin and Guinea Bissau have written a petition to the Ecowas Court of Justice appealing for the annulment of the election of the four Deputy Speakers of the Regional Parliament inaugurated in April.
The four people whose election is being queried included a Gambian, Bilay Tunkara, who is the fourth deputy speaker of the Ecowas parliament.
Others are First Deputy Speaker, Rt Jibrin Barau -Nigeria, Second Deputy Speaker, Adjaratou Traore Coulibaly – Cote d’Ivoire and Third Deputy Speaker, Alexander Afenyo-Markin of Ghana.
The letter dated 22 July, seen by The Standard, reads: “This election was marred by fraudulent, illegal, and grossly abusive practices in flagrant violation of the Supplementary Act of the Rules of Procedure of the Ecowas Parliament in force on that date. Such actions have led to discrimination and exclusion of the representation of Portuguese-speaking countries at the Bureau of the Ecowas Parliament.”
The election of Deputy Speakers, the petitioners added, was carried “out in a manner that violated not only the Supplementary Act and Rules of Procedure of the Ecowas Parliament in force on the date of the election but also the rules, criteria, and parliamentary practice stipulated since the first legislature in the Ecowas Parliament. This led to unjust exclusion and discrimination.”
They also argued that the Ecowas Parliament violated the Supplementary Act and the Rules of Procedure of the Ecowas Parliament by electing a Speaker pro Tempore to lead the process of electing Deputy Speakers for the sixth legislature.
“The correct procedure, as outlined in the Supplementary Act and the Rules of Procedure, is the formation of a provisional Bureau (Bureau of Age) headed by the most senior Member of Parliament, with the Speaker of Parliament conducting the election of Deputy Speakers after their own election. This deviation from the established procedure is a significant procedural irregularity that warrants the annulment of the election. In the absence of the election of the Speaker of the Ecowas Parliament, the election of Deputy Speakers could be postponed, or at the very least, the provisional bureau could be led by the most senior Member of Parliament and never by a Speaker pro-Tempore as they decided to do,” the petition added.
They also argued that the election of the acting Speaker was a clear and gross violation of the Supplementary Act and the Rules of Procedure of the Ecowas Parliament in force on 4 April 2024.
“The election of the second and fourth Deputy Speakers of the Parliament was conducted by non-secret ballot. Members were asked to group themselves according to their choices for these two positions in contested elections. This was a gross violation of the Supplementary Act and the Rules of Procedure on the election date. The Speaker pro-Tempore, who was illegally appointed by the Ecowas Parliament, allowed and induced the plenary session to violate the Community parliamentary rules and practice in force since the first parliamentary legislative term, namely the linguistic balance in the composition of the Ecowas Parliament’s bureau, having discriminated against and excluded the Portuguese-speaking countries from the bureau (Cape Verde and Guinea), since in this sixth legislature Cape Verde should have the place of one of the deputy speakers, being discriminated against and excluded outright,” the petition stated.
The MPs added that currently, the bureau of the Ecowas Parliament is made up of two French speakers and three English speakers because of the discrimination and exclusion of Lusophone countries.
“We consider this to be unacceptable and abusive. The rules and practices of the Ecowas Parliament since its first legislature are as follows: When a French-speaking country presides over the Ecowas Parliament, Nigeria occupies the position of first Deputy Speaker. A French-speaking country always occupies the position of second deputy speaker, a Portuguese-speaking country occupies the position of third deputy speaker, and an English-speaking country occupies the position of fourth deputy speaker.”
The petitioners argued that considering the facts and the proven evidence of violation of the Supplementary Act and the Rules of Procedure in force on 4 April 2024, as well as the breach of the rules and practice of the Ecowas Parliament, with discriminatory and abusive exclusion of Lusophones, specifically Cape Verdeans, allowing for a linguistic imbalance in the composition of the Parliament’s bureau, “we request the cancellation of the election of Deputy Speakers held at the inaugural session of the sixth legislature and the holding of a new election of Deputy Speakers of the Ecowas Parliament, respecting and complying with the Supplementary Act, the Rules of Procedure and Community parliamentary rules and practice.”
A member of the petitioning NAMs confirmed the authenticity of the petition to The Standard.
