Governments Urged to Open Up For Healthy Competition

{{African Parliamentarians have urged governments to deepen democratic processes and to sustain efforts to curtail recurrent pockets of instability and poor governance in the region.}}

At the same time, the legislators are recommending for linkages of democratic governance with the provision of basic needs of the citizens, a move they say shall stabilise countries.

The commitments emanate at the end of the two-day International Parliamentary Conference on emerging democracies in Africa which took place in Abuja, Nigeria.

The conference held on June 17-18, 2013 agreed to advocate for strengthening of institutions including the judiciary, legislature, security services, electoral commissions and a free press as a pre-requisite for sustainable development in Africa.

EALA Speaker, Margaret Zziwa was emphatic that effective political participation can only be realised when it offers minorities and indigenous peoples opportunities to promote and protect their identity and to ensure respect for their dignity and their communities.

Delivering a paper on opening political competition and effective participation, Zziwa remarked that it was significant for all political actors including governments in power to open up and create space for healthy competition.

“What we need is an assured level of civil and political liberties including freedom of expression, that of the press and freedom of association so as to ensure the integrity of political competition and participation”, the EALA Speaker maintained.

Zziwa encouraged states and Parliaments to make better laws in order to give all people a sense of ownership.

{EALA Speaker, Margaret Zziwa.}

{wirestory}