At least 17 Speakers and Presiding Officers from sovereign states of the Commonwealth nations have arrived in Kampala with 15 more expected today ahead of the assembly of legislatures scheduled to begin on Thursday at Munyonyo Speke Resort.

So far those who have arrived include Leo Cato, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Grenada; Alban Kingsford Bagbin Sumana (Ghana), Mohamed Aslam (Maldives), Fetafehi Kinikinilau Lolomanaia (Tonga), Johari Abdul (Malaysia), and Auuapaau Mulipola Aloitafua (Samoa).

Others are Kenya’s Moses Francis Masika Wetangula, Sooroojdev Phokeer of Mauritius, Manzoor Nadir (Guyana), Nelly Mutti of Zambia, Namibia’s Lukas Sinimbo Muha, Jemma Nunu Kumba of South Sudan, Phandu Tombola Chaha Skelemani (Botswana), Mamonaheng Mokitimi (Lesotho), and Francisco Esperanca Laurinda of Mozambique.

Overall, 43 delegates confirmed their attendance at the 27th Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers Conference – CSPOC 2024 to run from 4th to 6th January 2024. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni will officiate the opening of the event.

On Wednesday, the host Speaker Anita Among, who doubles as the Chairperson of CSPOC, held bilateral discussions with Johari Abdul the Speaker of the Parliament, and Dr. Wan Junaidi Bin Tuanku Jaafar of Malaysia with the President of the Senate of Malaysia.

She pointed out the need for the Conference to present an opportunity for legislatures to network, build, and nurture bilateral and multilateral relations through Parliamentary diplomacy within the Commonwealth fraternity.

Citing armed conflicts in the Middle East, various parts of Africa, parts of Eastern Europe, and Asia, Among observed that consensus building and effective parliamentary diplomacy is an effective remedy to disunity and a recipe for a more harmonious, tranquil, and stable society.

There are more than 45 armed conflicts currently taking place throughout the Middle East and North Africa specifically in territories of Yemen, Libya, Palestine, and Israel among others. Notably, ranks second in the number of armed conflicts per region.   For instance, more than 35 non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) taking place in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.

“May the CSPOC conference re-alignment of Commonwealth Legislatures to marshal effort and confront the present-day realities of inequality, climate change, increased poverty, especially in the global south, conflict, and exploitation.” Among said.

In response, Dr. Junaidi said that he looks forward to sharing the Malaysian experience on Climate Change with the rest of the Commonwealth and also to deepening trade and investment ties.

The role of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments is pivotal in enhancing democracy and good governance. They are the gatekeepers of impartiality, custodians of parliamentary decorum and ethics, and guarantors of the rights and dignity of the minority even in the face of overwhelming majorities.

The leadership of Parliament has planned to use KIIRA Kayoola EV buses to transport the visitors who are scheduled to visit Namugongo Martyrs Shrines, Makerere University, and Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Center (UWEC) in a gesture aimed at reducing carbon production.

The Conference brings together the Speakers and Presiding Officers of the national parliaments of the independent sovereign states of the Commonwealth. It was created in 1969 as an initiative of then Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, the Honourable Lucien Lamoureux. Since its inception, Canada has provided CSPOC with a secretariat to support its activities.

The Conference is an independent group and has no formal affiliation with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Commonwealth Secretariat, or the Commonwealth Heads of Government. CSPOC operates on a two-year cycle, holding a conference of the full membership every two years, usually early in January, and a meeting of the Standing Committee at the same time the intervening year.

The Conference aims to maintain, foster, and encourage impartiality and fairness on the part of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments; promote knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms; and develop parliamentary institutions.