CPA NEWS CPA LAUNCHES 'DEMOCRACY LOOKS DIFFERENT' BLOG SERIES TO MARK INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DEMOCRACY 2021 International Day of Democracy, held each year on 15th September, is ‘an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world.’ To mark the day, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) launched a blog series, titled 'Democracy Looks Different: How the pandemic changed Commonwealth democracies.' The blog articles review how Commonwealth democracies have changed the way that they operate in the last year, examining the lessons learned and forming a picture of what post-pandemic democracies might look like. Topics include campaigning during a lockdown, postponing elections, online voting, and livestreaming of parliamentary sittings, with case studies and examples from across the Commonwealth, from small jurisdictions such as Guernsey and Turks and Caicos Islands to the biggest chambers in the Commonwealth, like the Lok Sabha of India and the UK House of Lords. Visit www.cpahq.org/knowledge-centre/cpa-blogs.
CPA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HOLD VIRTUAL MEETINGS TO ADDRESS KEY GOVERNANCE ISSUES
The CPA Executive Committee held its third fully virtual meeting from 28 to 30 September 2021 chaired by the Acting Chairperson of the Executive Committee, Hon. Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP (UK) assisted by the CPA SecretaryGeneral, Stephen Twigg. The CPA Executive Committee represents the nine regions of the CPA - Africa; Asia; Australia; British Islands and Mediterranean; Canada; Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic; India; Pacific; South-East Asia. The Acting Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee said: “The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association provides a unique platform for inter-parliamentary dialogue to take place amongst its membership of 180 Member Parliaments and Legislatures. Although the CPA Executive Committee is meeting virtually once again this week, we look forward to meeting in person and furthering the CPA’s work in strengthening parliamentary democracy across the Commonwealth.”
PARLIAMENTARY CLERKS FROM THE CPA AFRICA REGION’S SOCIETY OF CLERKSAT-THE-TABLE MEET IN KENYA TO DISCUSS ADAPTIVE PARLIAMENTS
Parliamentary Clerks from the CPA Africa Region have met for the Fifth Society of Clerks-at-the-Table (SoCATT) Africa Region Professional Development Seminar in Nairobi Kenya from 22 to 24 October 2021, hosted by the Parliament of Kenya and CPA Kenya Branch. The three-day seminar was held on the theme of ‘Promoting adaptive programming in Parliamentary settings as a response to emergency and emerging global, regional and national challenges’. Delegates were led by the Chairperson of the SoCATT CPA Africa Region, Mrs Cecilia N. Mbewe, Clerk of the National Assembly of Zambia with Clerks and parliamentary staff attending from a wide range of jurisdictions across the CPA Africa Region including Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Eswatini, Namibia and Kenya. The seminar was officially opened by the Chairperson of the CPA Africa Regional Executive Committee, Rt Hon. Justin B. Muturi, EGH, MP, Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya, who gave the keynote address on the need for modern Legislatures to promote innovative processes to respond to the emerging global, regional and national challenges. The seminar also heard from the Clerk of the National Assembly of Kenya, Mr Michael Sialai and the Clerk of the Kenya Senate, Mr Jeremiah Nyegenye. The Society of Clerks-at-the-Table (SoCATT) Africa Region provides a network for the sharing of best parliamentary practice amongst the Commonwealth Legislatures in the region. The Parliamentarian | 2021: Issue Four | 100 years of publishing | 339
