The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and the African European Parliamentary Initiative (AEPI) launched a seminar focused on strengthening democratic governance and political cooperation between African and European legislators.
EALA Speaker welcomed the partnership, highlighting that the seminar could help reinforce democratic practices across the region. “This seminar presents an opportunity to strengthen the democratic practices,” the Speaker said during the opening session.
The discussions included critical questions about Africa’s ability to pursue independent democratic processes. EALA lawmaker Fatuma Ndangiza asked how African countries are expected to practice democracy without Western or European interference, or without feeling that they are being dictated to.
Speaking at the seminar, Brendan Howlin, President of AEPI, emphasized the importance of renewing African-European political cooperation. “For this week, we begin to renew that African-European political cooperation. It is our hope that the positivity and active engagement that characterized the old Nanyuki conference series will be reignited to achieve constructive goals and strengthen mutual understanding on these challenging issues,” Howlin said.
He reflected on decades of global political change, noting the need for reform in international institutions and advocating for Africa’s growing role in world affairs. “With its growing population and increasing economic capacity, Africa will play an ever more important role in world affairs,” he said, adding that cooperation between African and European parliaments could help shape a positive future.
Howlin also drew lessons from history, referencing European extremism in the 1930s and the legacy of colonialism in Africa. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. But remembering the past doesn’t mean we have to live in it. Our task is to shift the future,” he said. He concluded with optimism about Africa’s future and the role parliamentary cooperation could play in realizing it.
The African European Parliamentary Initiative (AEPI) is an organization that works to strengthen African parliamentary institutions and promote democracy on the continent. Its partnership with EALA aims to support capacity-building, research, and policy dialogue among legislators.
The Nanyuki seminar series, organized by EALA, is designed to provide legislators with a platform for dialogue on regional integration, governance, and socio-economic issues. This latest session with AEPI highlights efforts to foster international partnerships while strengthening Africa’s democratic processes.
The two day seminar hosted in Kampala comes at a time when Uganda is in a period of presidential campaigns to elect their president in January next year, and comes and a time when Tanzanian government is facing criticism and International pressure on the crackdown on opposition and the election violence.
